Together Again
by DEIDARA-CHAN96
Summary: Yami regains memories of a girl that he met when he was still a young prince back in Egypt, and discovers that she may be from present day. He longs to see her again...and the sudden return of Bakura and Marik brings the two back together faster than anyone expected...(Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or its original characters. The three OCs belong to me.)
1. Chapter 1

It was morning in Domino City, and the air was damp from the rain that had fallen the night before. Yugi Mutou and his friends had been home from their adventure in Egypt for almost a month now. Although Yugi had been the winner of the Ceremonial Duel, Yami had been given permission to choose whether he would like to go to the afterlife or stay with Yugi and his friends.

After a long time of critical thinking, Yami had realized that he couldn't simply leave his new friends that had helped him get so far, and that even though he'd learned a portion of his past, he knew that there were still many crucial pieces missing to his story. So, he'd left Egypt with them, returning to the Puzzle so that he and Yugi could solve the rest of his mystery together.

At the Kame Game Shop, the warm sunshine was beginning to shine through the window and into Yugi's bedroom. Yugi was still in bed, fast asleep. However, within the Millennium Puzzle that sat on the nightstand, the King of Games was deep in thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Inside the Puzzle/Yami's Soul Room_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yami was wandering through the winding hallways and passages of his mind. He wasn't truly going anywhere. He was simply looking for something – anything – that hadn't been there before. Unlike a few weeks before, a large number of the once sealed doors were now wide open, displaying specific memories of his days in Ancient Egypt. But even though some of his past had been revealed, there were still many closed doors remaining within his subconscious, which somewhat saddened the pharaoh.

"There's still so much I don't remember…" he thought aloud. "So many things that I may never know…" Yami stopped for a moment, and softly rested a hand on one of the locked iron doors. He stared at it for a short while, his eyes filled with longing. He sighed softly. Perhaps he was being too impatient. After all, Yugi had told him that it could take some time for all of his memories to come back, and that even so, they could return at any time. Yami smiled softly. "Yugi's right." he decided. "I'll just have to wait for my memories to return when the time is right."

Removing his hand from the door, the pharaoh began to make his way back to the main corridor. Since he was used to the tunnels more so than Yugi and his other friends, it only took him about ten minutes to reach the center of the Puzzle. But as he stepped out into the open space, Yami suddenly noticed something glisten out of the corner of his eye. Quickly turning his head, the pharaoh could see a small shiny object on the floor, right next to a closed door.

The King of Games raised an eyebrow, somewhat suspicious of the glistening item only a few meters away. Curiosity was quick to overcome him, and slowly, Yami made his way over to the object and carefully picked it up. In his hands was a small novelty ring. The band was made of gold colored plastic, and instead of a stone or jewel, a red plastic strawberry covered with black seeds was fastened by the bezel. It didn't take a genius to tell that it wasn't from Yami's time period.

'_Where did __**this**__ come from?'_ the pharaoh wondered, examining the ring carefully. _'I've never seen it before…at least…I don't __**think**__ I have…'_ For some reason, the strange piece of jewelry seemed familiar to Yami, although he couldn't remember when or where he had come across it before. But as he continued to gaze at it in his hands, a sudden feeling came over him; a strange feeling that he couldn't and didn't want to resist. He wasn't at all sure if was the correct decision, but even so, the pharaoh still wanted to take the chance.

With great caution, Yami slid the band onto his right ring finger with barely any effort. Once it was in place, the pharaoh stuck out his open hand to see how it looked. To Yami's surprise, the ring actually fit well, though he didn't know whether to take that as a good or bad thing. "How strange…I wasn't expecting it to fit me…" he admitted, feeling intrigued yet somewhat frightened. "It's…almost as if I've-"

Just then, without any warning, an intense pain swiftly filled Yami's head. Taken completely by surprise, the King of Games let out an ear splitting cry, and grabbed his head with both of his hands. As the pain began to spread, the Eye of Anubis started to glow brightly on his forehead. Within the same few seconds, hundreds of images began to appear in the pharaoh's mind all at once, flashing in front of him too rapidly for him to completely make out.

'_What's…happening…to me?!'_ Yami thought. _'I…I can't-'_ the mental pictures suddenly began coming at a faster rate, not allowing him to complete the thought. Yami screamed in agony once again, and held his head tighter in an unsuccessful attempt to try and relieve his suffering. He had no idea what was going on, and didn't have a clue how to make the unbearable pain stop.

/Yugi!/ the pharaoh yelled through the mind link he and his partner shared. /Aibou, help me!/ Sadly, his screams didn't seem to be enough, for they were met with silence.

Yami winced as the pain continued to burn into his head. He was starting to feel lightheaded, and the Puzzle almost seemed to be tipping in different directions. /Yugi, please! I need you!/ the pharaoh shouted again, but weaker than before. /I…I don't know what's…happening…I feel so…so…/ But before he could finish his cry for help, Yami's eyes rolled back and his eyelids drooped closed. Within seconds, he collapsed onto the cold floor, and slipped deep into the abyss of unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Yugi's Bedroom_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yugi eyes snapped open as he heard a weak, exhausted voice in his head. It was still early, and he usually wouldn't wake up so easily. But this was different, for it only took a short moment for the teenage duelist to realize where the voice was coming from. "Yami!" he shouted, sitting up in terror. Yugi frantically threw the covers off his body, practically fell out of bed, and grabbed the Millennium Puzzle from the nightstand. /Yami?! Yami, what happened?!/ Yugi asked worriedly through the mind link. There was no response.

'_He would never ignore me like this unless something was wrong…'_ the panicking teen thought, fearing the worst. Without a second thought, Yugi pulled the Puzzle's chain over his neck, closed his eyes, and focused as much energy as he could. _'Yami…please be alright…'_ At that moment, the eye of the Millennium Puzzle began to glow, and suddenly the room was filled with a blinding light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Yugi's Soul Room_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yugi opened his eyes a moment later, and found himself inside of his brightly lit soul room. Not wanting to waste any time, he quickly darted for the door, avoiding the toys scattered all over the floor. In seconds, he'd yanked the door to his soul room open, and once he was in the hallway, Yugi rushed over to Yami's soul room door, which was closed.

"Yami?!" Yugi called nervously through the door. "Yami, are you alright?!" There was no answer. The teen could feel his heart sink in fear. Yugi would never forgive himself if something happened to Yami. The pharaoh was like the older brother he'd never had, and Yugi would rather die than go on without him. "Yami, I'm coming in, okay?!" Yugi called again, and then grabbed the door's handle and pushed. But to the teenager's surprise, the door didn't budge.

Yugi started to panic. What if the door was jammed shut, and he couldn't open it? Would Yami…would Yami be…No! Yugi shook his head, getting the thought out of his mind. This was no time to be quitting. He had a friend to save, and nothing was going to stop him. The teen pushed harder against the door, putting all of his strength it. He kept this up for minute or so, when suddenly, the door popped open, causing Yugi to topple inside the room face first.

Yugi shrieked as he hit the floor, but quickly pulled himself into a sitting position. He rubbed his head in an attempt to soothe the pain. "Ouch…I think I might have overdone-" Unfortunately, the teen didn't finish his thought, since he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Naturally the teenager glanced up to see what it was. The moment he did, a terrified gasp escaped his lips.

Yami was far at the other end of the corridor, lying motionless on the floor. "Yami!" Yugi shouted, scrambling to his feet and running to the pharaoh's side. "Yami, what's wrong?! Say something! _Anything_!" Much to the teenager's dismay, Yami seemed unaware of his presence, only mumbling a few incoherent words to himself.

With worry beginning to consume him, Yugi slowly sat his partner up, having to support him so that he wouldn't fall backwards onto the floor, and examined his condition. The pharaoh's body temperature and breathing seemed normal, which gave the teenager some comfort. But still, Yami's current state was definitely something for him to worry about. Yugi's mind became wracked with confusion. What could have happened to cause Yami to just collapse like this?

Yugi's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he noticed the strawberry ring on his partner's right hand for the first time. Surprised by its presence, the curious teen pulled the pharaoh's right hand closer to him to get a better look. _'Where did Yami get this thing? I've never seen it before.'_ Yugi thought, his suspicion growing an alarming rate. _'It couldn't possibly be from Ancient Egypt; it's made of plastic. But then…where did it come from?'_

As he continued to stare at it, Yugi suddenly got a strange notion. Could that ring be causing the pharaoh's strange condition? Could someone – or something – have gotten into the puzzle somehow and done this to Yami on purpose? "But…that's impossible…isn't it?" the teen thought aloud.

The idea wasn't too far-fetched. After all, he'd witnessed all sorts of magic from his experiences with the pharaoh. To put some sort of charm on a piece of jewelry, and then slip it into the Puzzle somehow didn't like much of a challenge at all. Yugi took a deep breath. He didn't know if his deductions were logical, but he didn't want to take a chance by passing them off as nonsense.

The desperate teen gingerly pulled Yami's right hand closer and grabbed the band of the ring with his thumb and forefinger. He carefully started to pull at the ring gently, trying not to make his partner anymore uncomfortable. But just as the ring was beginning to slide off of Yami's finger, Yugi suddenly heard a strange noise.

To the curious teen, it seemed to be a combination of two sounds; one was the creaking of old hinges, while the other was the scratching of metal on stone. But as Yugi was analyzing the noise, it suddenly stopped just as quickly as it had begun. Curious, Yugi glanced up, hoping to find the sound's source. What he saw next was the biggest shock of his life.

In front of Yugi was a little girl, no older than five, standing in the opening of a just previously closed iron door. She had soft looking pale skin, and most of her chin-length hair was blond, with black and red bangs. Her eyes, which greatly resembled Yami's in shape, we're a strange but beautiful orange-yellow. She wore a black, sleeveless kimono shirt with a red collar, as well as black hakama pants and sandals with red straps. She hadn't seemed to notice the two teenagers in front of her.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, raising her arms into the air with joy. "Geez, I thought that thing would never open. 5,000 years without fresh air can really get to a person after a while." As she was celebrating her newfound freedom, the little girl happened to notice Yugi staring at her in shock.

'_Who the heck is __**she**__?!'_ Yugi wondered, hopelessly confused. At first, the little girl just stared back at him innocently, not really knowing the purpose of his presence. But that was quick to change, because the next thing she noticed was Yami unconscious in Yugi's arms. She suddenly let out a shocked gasp, and before Yugi knew it, she had run up to him and pushed him away from his partner.

"Ow!" he yelled as he fell on his back. To say that the teenage duelist was surprised by the attack would be an understatement. After all, no one would expect to be shoved away so suddenly, especially by a five-year-old. Quickly regaining his composure, Yugi pulled himself back up to a sitting position, only to find the little girl gently shaking Yami, as if she was trying wake him. "Hey, what was that for?!" he asked. "What did I ever do to you?!"

"Stay away!" the little girl shouted at Yugi. Her attention quickly returned to Yami, worry in her eyes. "Your Highness, are you okay?! Did this weirdo do something to you?!" Yugi would have retaliated for the 'weirdo' remark, but he suddenly noticed something odd.

'_Your Highness?'_ he thought, raising an eyebrow. How did this little girl know that Yami was royalty? Better yet, how did she know Yami at all? "Just who _are_ you?" Yugi asked her curiously.

"Why should I tell _you_?!" she responded angrily. "You're lucky I haven't messed you up yet for what you did to the pharaoh!" Yugi's eyes widened. So this girl _did_ know Yami. Unfortunately, it seemed that she thought _he_ was the one who had put the pharaoh in his current state.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do this!" Yugi insisted, moving closer. "Yami's my friend; I would never try to hurt him!" The little girl's expression of anger transformed into one of confusion, and she cocked head curiously.

"Yami?" she repeated. "What in the name of Ra is a Yami?"

"Not what; _who_. That's his name…well, one of them anyway…" Yugi informed the child. "But the point is that I'm not responsible for any of this!"

"Well, how do I know that you're not making that up?" the girl questioned suspiciously, "I mean, it's not like you have any proof that you're not, so how can I believe you?"

"_Proof_?! I share a body with him! And the door to my mind is right across from his!" Yugi practically screamed, pointing at the door. The teen wasn't usually one to lose his head, but this girl's lack of trust was starting to get on his nerves. "What about _you_?! Where's _your_ proof?!" The little girl didn't answer, and instead looked down at Yami's unconscious form. But a moment later, she suddenly knelt down and grabbed the pharaoh's right hand. "Hey, what are you doing to him?!" Yugi interrogated. "You'd better not try any-"

"You see this?" the girl interrupted, lifting Yami's hand higher and pointing at his fingers. Yugi temporarily ceased his furious tirade to see what she was talking about. He gasped softly when he did see it. The child was identifying the strange ring on Yami's finger. "This is _my_ ring. I gave it to him a long time ago, and he gave me this one. See?"

She suddenly raised her own right hand, revealing a different ring. This one, however, was clearly crafted with real gold, with small golden beryl and red garnet stones imbedded around the band in an alternating pattern. It was clear now to Yugi that she could be telling the truth about the rings. After all, where else would a child have gotten such an authentic piece of Ancient Egyptian jewelry? However, this belief did not erase all of the teenager's suspicion.

"Alright, so let's say you _do_ really know him…" Yugi partially agreed, still glaring. "But how do I know that that ring of yours isn't doing this to him?!"

"What? No! How could you even say something that?!" she screamed, waving her arms in a fury. "Geez, wait to jump to conclusions, ya jerk!" Yugi opened his mouth to shout back, but just sighed instead. This was pointless. Perhaps he was being too suspecting of this girl. She was just a child; what harm could she really do? Besides, he had bigger things to worry about than a kindergartener calling him names.

"Look, we don't have time for this…" he insisted as he kneeled down next to Yami. "I think you and I can at least agree that he's our number one priority right now." At first, the little girl just continued to glare. But slowly, her expression softened, and she sighed regretfully.

"I guess you're right…" she admitted, swinging her foot forward and back while staring at the floor. "I'm sorry for what I said…I guess I'm just…I'm just kinda…you know…"

Yugi couldn't help but smile to himself. It was quite clear to him that despite her efforts to hide it, this girl was just as concerned about Yami as he was, and he was amused by her attempts to hide it. "So…you forgive me?" the little girl asked.

"Sure I do. I'm sorry, too." Yugi accepted. "Let's just forget it ever happened."

"Really? Cool…" she rejoiced. "So, now that we're on the same side, would you mind reeling me who you are?"

"Me? I'm Yugi Mutou." Yugi responded. "But what about you?" The girl was silent for a moment, and then gave a nervous laugh.

"Ummm…yeah…about that…" she began, scratching her cheek with her finger in embarrassment. "As much as I'd love to introduce myself…I can't, because…I don't really know what my name is…"

"What?" Yugi gasped, completely astonished. "You mean you have no idea? How long have you been stuck in that room?!"

"Wait, you've got it all wrong!" the child tried to explain. "It's not that I forgot it or anything. It's just that I'm-" Before she had a chance to say anything else, Yami suddenly let out a soft whine. The sound instantly caught both Yugi and the little girl's attention. "Hey, look! I think he's waking up!" the girl exclaimed.

"Yami?" Yugi said softly, trying once more to rouse his partner. "Pharaoh, can you hear me?" The pharaoh's eyelids fluttered slightly, and within a few moments, they opened, revealing tired purple eyes.

"…Aibou?" he moaned, clearly overcome with exhaustion. Yugi's face instantly lit up with joy and relief.

"Yami!" the teenager exclaimed, pulling the pharaoh into a tight embrace. "Thank goodness you're alright! You had me worried sick!" Yami, still quite dazed, only stared with confusion.

"Worried?" he wondered aloud. "Why? What's the matter?" Naturally, Yugi was pretty shocked by that response. Did Yami really have no idea what had happened to him?

"Yami, you don't remember?" he asked. "Well, I'm not really sure what happened either. I came in when I heard you calling, and found you just lying here on the floor." It took a second or two for Yami to process the words, and another few seconds to mix them with the fragments of his blurred memory. But as the pieces came together, the past events instantly became clear, causing the pharaoh to snap of his partial stupor with a loud gasp.

"That's right!" he cried, sitting up in an instant. "I was-OW!" Yami suddenly grabbed his head with his hand for the second time that day. But this time the pain wasn't very severe; just a short lived headache from moving too quickly after his ordeal. Even so, his cry only made Yugi even more nervous.

"Yami! Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself!'" the worried teenager cried, grabbing onto the pharaoh in fear. Yami simply looked up at his partner with an assuring smile.

"I'm okay, Yugi…" Yami insisted. "In fact…I think I'm better than okay…" By now, Yugi was genuinely puzzled by Yami's strange behavior

"Yami, what are you talking about?" Yugi asked, pleading for an answer. "You're not making any sense!" Yami continued, somewhat amused by the teenager's confusion.

"Oh, Aibou…the most amazing thing happened." Yami sighed happily. "Just before I blacked out…there were these images…and even though it took a while…I realized that I recognized them…and that's when I realized it…Yugi…I think I got one of my memories back!" Yugi's eyes widened, and soon he wore the same smile on his face that Yami did.

"Yami, that's great!" the teen exclaimed, hugging his partner once again. "Well, don't keep me in suspense! What was it? What was it about?"

"Well, I could see myself, back in Egypt." the pharaoh began to remember. "But it was sort of strange…because I wasn't pharaoh yet. I was just a-"

"Hey, Yugi! I'm still here, you know!" the little girl interrupted, capturing the attention of both teenagers. "What, did you forget about me or something?" Yami gasped the moment he set eyes on the girl. His eyes became fixed on her face, and his mouth stayed partially open with surprise. However, Yugi didn't seem to notice.

"Oh right! I'm sorry…" he apologized with an embarrassed smile. "Yami, I met this girl when I came for you. But to be honest I don't really know if you-" Before the teenager could finish explaining, Yami had reached forward and grabbed the little girl, causing her to squeal with surprise. The pharaoh then pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. They kneeled there for quite some time, not making a sound. But after a while, Yami broke the silence

"…I missed you…" he whispered to her, a warm, grateful smile on his face. The little girl didn't say anything at first, but slowly wrapped her small arms around Yami's slim waist.

"…I missed you, too, Pharaoh…" she murmured sweetly, nuzzling against the king's chest.

As the two sat in their warm embrace, Yugi sat nearby, a look of complete shock and confusion. Only one question ran through his mind as he stared at Yami and the little girl: What the _hell_ was going on?!


	2. Chapter 2

"Yami… you actually know her?" Yugi asked curiously. Yami released the little girl from his embrace, and both of them glanced over at the confused teenager.

"Yes, Yugi…for almost all my life." the pharaoh replied.

"That's right!" the girl exclaimed with pride. "I've known the pharaoh for over 5,000 years now!" Yugi's confusion only doubled.

"But Yami, why didn't you tell me about this girl before?!" Yugi inquired

"Well, I couldn't tell you what I didn't know myself." Yami confessed. Yugi's eyes widened.

"Wait…you're telling me…she's the one you remembered?!" Yugi gasped. Yami simply nodded.

"She's the one, Aibou…" he confirmed. Yugi felt as if all logic had been blown to bits.

"But you…and she…and then I…_HOW_?" he begged, desperate for answers. Yami, thought for a short moment, before looking back at his distraught partner.

"Well," he began, sitting in a more comfortable position. "It was a long time ago, back in Egypt…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _Egypt, 5,010 Years Ago_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_It was another warm, beautiful day in Egypt, and the sun was already at its highest peak the clear, blue sky. As the palace of Pharaoh Aknamkanon gleamed in the warm sun rays, the inhabitants of the capital city were already up and about. The adults were talking and trading amongst themselves, while young children played and chased each other through the roads._

_On the outskirts of town, a five-year-old Atem was on his way to the Nile River, kicking up small clouds of sand as he ran. The Prince of Egypt had once again managed to slip away from his guards and escape from the palace. He loved to go out on nice afternoons like this, but his mother would always try to send Mahad along to keep him out of trouble. So today, he'd decided to escape the watchful eye of his guardians for a chance to taste complete freedom._

_As Atem reached the riverbed, he kicked off his shoes and waded into the area with the least rapids until the water reached his knees. As the cold, clean liquid flowed over his tan skin, a school of minuscule fish swam up to his feet and took turns nibbling at his toes, causing him to laugh softly from the tickling sensation._

"_I'm sorry, fishies," Atem apologized, even though they couldn't reply, "But I'm not a snack. You'll have to eat something else." He swished his feet around one at a time, causing the startled fish to scatter. Once they'd regrouped and glided away, the young royal continued his fun, splashing and making waves while giggling happily. But as he played in the water, Atem failed to notice two large shadows emerge towards the river from behind him._

"_Well, well…" a masculine voice suddenly said. "What do we have here?"_

"_It seems we're in the presence of a royal. We should be honored." another male voice responded with a somewhat sarcastic tone. The prince froze for a moment, and then slowly turned around in wonder._

_Two grown men were now looking over at him from the riverbed. One of them was taller and serious looking, while the other was slightly shorter and had a somewhat arrogant air to him. Both of them were covered from the neck down by thin black cloaks. From this, Atem knew immediately that they were thieves; after seeing so many men in the same garb being hauled away to his father's dungeon, it was easy for him to recognize them._

"_What are you doing out here all by yourself, little boy?" the taller thief questioned, taking a step forward. "Don't you know it's dangerous for the son of a pharaoh to be outside the palace all alone?" Atem, sensing the danger, quickly darted back to the shore, keeping a wide distance between him and the thieves._

"_G-go away!" he stuttered. "I…I'm not afraid of you!" The shorter man smirked at him, amused by his attempted bravery._

"_Well, you should be." he insisted. "I suggest you watch your mouth before you get yourself in trouble." Atem swallowed hard. He was getting a very strange feeling in his stomach, as if something bad was about happen._

"_Now, why don't you take a little trip with us?" the first thief asked. Atem backed away nervously, but the strangers kept coming. "Don't be afraid. I just want to take you back to your parents…that is, if their willing to pay for your safe return." By now, Atem's eyes were wide with terror. He could already imagine the horror of being a hostage, and his possible demise at his assailants' hands. The very though terrified him to the bone. But before the horrid ideas could overflow, the scared royal squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, rejecting the negative thoughts. What in the name of Ra was he thinking? He was Atem: son of Pharaoh Aknamkanon and future ruler of all of Egypt. He had to be strong, like a prince should always be._

_By now, the criminals were right in front of Atem, but he didn't move or make a sound. "Let's go, brat…" the second thief ordered confidently, reaching for the young royal. But before he could get a hold, Atem narrowed his eyes and glared up at him in anger._

"_No!" Atem cried out in protest. "Leave me alone!" Then, before either of the crooks could react, the royal swiftly raised his small foot and viciously kicked the shorter thief in the shin. The thief cried out, grabbing his leg and practically falling over. Atem saw his chance for escape and attempted to run back in the direction of the town. But before he could, a strong hand suddenly grabbed him by the hair and pulled him backwards, causing him to shriek in pain._

"_Well, aren't we a feisty one?" the first thief teased, turning Atem's head to force eye contact. "We'll have to do something about that."_

"_Let go of me!" Atem screamed, trying to loosen the man's fingers from his tri-colored locks. "Let go, I said! Help! Someone help me!"_

"_Shut up, you little brat!" the second thief, who had recovered from Atem's initial attack, hissed. "I outta slit your throat for kicking me like that!"_

"_It's your own fault, moron." The first thief scolded, "Honestly, how could someone be so easily outsmarted by a child?"_

"_He just caught me of guard, that's all!" the second thief insisted, and then leaned in close to Atem with a menacing grin. "But it's not going to happen again…isn't that right, pest?" Atem only glared._

"_Get away from me!" the captive prince screamed angrily. "Don't touch me, you ugly freak!" The second thief eyes quickly became filled with vicious rage._

"_What did you say, you little bastard?!" the furious thief roared, quickly raising his left hand. "I'll teach you to talk to me like that!" Atem squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for the hit. But it never came, because just as the thief was about to make the stinging blow, a high pitched voice suddenly rang threw the air._

"_Hey, you!" it cried out, causing both thieves to look up in surprise. "Yeah, you two; the big, ugly guys in black!" The thieves turned to the direction of the voice, as did Atem. Standing a few yards away from them was a young girl. She was about the prince's age, with tri-colored hair only slightly different from his. "What do you jerks think you're doing!? Only cowards pick on little kids!" She glanced away from the criminals and looked over at Atem, her expression changing from an angry glare to a friendly and confident smile. "Stay calm, okay?" she comforted him, making a peace sign with her fingers. "I'll make these bullies leave you alone!"_

_Atem couldn't help but stare at the girl. It was clear to him that she was not from his land; not only did she make odd symbols with her hands, but her skin was extremely pale, and she dressed in strange robes that he'd never seen before. __**'But then…why is she helping me?' **__he wondered. The thieves, not noticing Atem's curiosity, glared over at the bold child._

"_Where did she come from?" the first thief asked, somewhat discomforted by her sudden appearance._

"_Who cares?" the second thief scoffed, looking back at the girl with a wicked smile "Get lost, brat! This is none of your business, so don't get involved unless you want to get hurt!" The little girl stared at him for a moment, and suddenly giggled. "What are you laughing at, you little bitch!?" the thief interrogated, angered by the mocking laughter._

"_You, of course." the girl responded. "You think you're so big and intimidating, don't you? Well here's a news flash, loser: you're not!" The second thief's face turned a deep, angry red, and fury filled his eyes._

"_Why you-!" he roared, marching furiously towards the little girl. "I swear to Ra, I'm gonna kill this kid!"_

"_We don't have time, you fool!" the first thief tried to convince him. "We have to get out of here!"_

"_Don't try and stop me! Besides it'll only take a second!" the other thief argued. He grabbed the front of the girl's top and raised the other in a fist. "You ready to die?!" The girl only continued to smile._

"_You sure are dumb." she giggled. "Oh well… I'll just have to beat some sense into you." The second thief was slightly disturbed by the girl's confident air. But not wanting to be shown up by a child, he tried to hide it._

"_Just shut up already!" he yelled, preparing to strike the child. "You clearly have any idea who you're messing with!"_

"_Of course I do…" she responded bluntly. "__**You're**__ the one who doesn't know who their messing with…" Without any warning, a brilliant light suddenly began to emit from the little girl. It became so bright that Atem had to close his eyes in order to shield them from the blinding rays._

"_What is she doing?!" the first thief asked in fear. "You fool! What did you do?!"_

"_How should I know?!" the second thief responded nervously. "I didn't even-" But before another word could be spoken, two chilling screams of agony rang out. Atem shrieked as the hand holding his hair suddenly loosened, causing him to fall into the sand. His eyes were still shut tight, and he didn't dare open them out of fear of what he might see. He covered his head with his arms, in a desperate attempt to shield himself. Even as an eerie silence fell over the desert, he did not move._

_After what seemed like forever, a hand suddenly touched the royal's head. At first, Atem tensed up with fear. But he quickly realized that it wasn't the hand of one of the thieves; this hand was small and soft, and it was rubbing his hair in an attempt to sooth him. "Don't be scared." he heard the little girl assure him. "It's just me." With great caution, the prince raised his head. He saw his young rescuer kneeling over him, a cheerful smile stretched across her face. "You okay?" she asked._

"_I…think so…" Atem answered. He sat up slowly, and looked at his surroundings. He gasped when he noticed the two thieves lying still only a few feet away, and backed away from them. "Are…are they…"_

"_Dead? No." the girl responded. "I could've done that, but it seemed kinda harsh, don't you think?" Atem's eyes widened. This girl was definitely stranger than anyone he'd ever met. Though he didn't know how or why she had done it, he had no choice but to believe that she had beaten the thieves; who else could have? "Anyway, they won't be bothering you anymore." she assured, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him to his feet before dusting the sand off his tunic. "You sure you're okay?"_

"_I'm alright…" the prince convinced her. "But…why did you do it?"_

"_Do what?" the little girl asked._

"_Save me…those two could have really hurt you." Atem continued. "Why put your life in danger for someone like me?" The girl took a moment to think the question over._

"_Because…I like you!" she exclaimed. Atem's eyes widened instantly._

"_You…like me?" the startled prince repeated, confused._

"_Of course I do!" she insisted. "You seem like a really nice guy, and you care about my safety even though we just met. What's not to like?" Atem's cheeks flushed a soft red, and he looked down at his feet in embarrassment._

"_Th-Thank you…" he whispered shyly._

"_Aww, don't worry about it." she laughed, taking his hands in hers. "I'm just glad you're safe; I wouldn't want that cute face of yours to get scratched." Atem couldn't help but giggle a little. This girl was different; but perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing._

"_There he is!" a female child's voice suddenly called out. "I told you he'd be out here!" The two children turned towards the direction of the voice curiously. Running towards them were two other children, and as they drew closer Atem recognized them almost immediately._

"_Mana? Mahad? How did you-" he started to ask, but was interrupted when Mahad swiftly pulled him out of the girl's grasp._

"_Who are you, girl?!" Mahad interrogated the stranger. "You are clearly an outsider, so what business do you have here?!"_

"_Yeah, and what were you doing to the prince?!" Mana questioned angrily. The little girl's grew large with excitement, and she completely neglected the serious expressions of the two young magicians_

"_A prince? For real?!" she asked cheerfully, smiling at the royal and taking a step towards him. "So that makes you royalty, right? That's awesome!" Atem blushed at her compliment, but Mahad and Mana didn't seem to notice._

"_Do not come any closer!" Mahad ordered, pulling the prince behind his back. "I shall not allow you to touch him!" The girl just seemed confused, unlike Atem, who was horribly worried. It was clear to him that his friends were mistaking his savior for his assailant. "Now, I will not ask again!" Mahad assured, focusing his shadow energy in preparation for a magic blast. "Who are you and what is your purpose here?!"_

"_Please stop! Both of you!" Atem commanded. "I can't let you do this!" His friends looked back at him in surprise._

"_What do you mean?" Mana wondered, confused. "She's trying to hurt you…isn't she?" Atem shook his head._

"_She hasn't tried to hurt me at all." he informed them as he walked back towards his new friend. "In fact, it's because of her that I'm __**not**__ in danger." He looked over at the still incapacitated thieves, and pointed at their motionless bodies. "Those two men were trying to kidnap me." the prince continued. "If this girl hadn't come along, they probably would have gotten away with it." Mana and Mahad were awestruck._

"_Wow…this just got really awkward for us…" Mana giggled nervously, scratching her head._

"_Your Highness, please forgive us…we should not have jumped to conclusions…" Mahad apologized, bowing his head and pushing down on Mana's to force her to bow as well. "We are truly sorry for our behavior." Atem smiled softly in amusement. Didn't his friends know by now that there was no need for them to bow to him like this?_

"_It's alright, you guys." he comforted them. "I know you were just trying to protect me." The young magicians raised their heads and turned to the little girl._

"_We are very grateful for what you have done." Mahad thanked her, this time being much more respectful. "Our entire country is in your debt for saving out prince." The little girl twiddled with her index fingers._

"_Aww, it was nothing …" she tried to convince them. "You really don't have to-" Before she could finish, Mana suddenly screamed._

"_WHAT IN THE NAME OF OSIRIS IS __**THAT**__?!" she cried out in terror. The others looked towards her with wide eyes. To their astonishment, a swirling vortex-like hole of red and black was forming before their very eyes, growing larger by the second. Atem and his friends gaped at the vortex in shock. However, their new ally only grinned._

"_What, that? That's just my ride out of here." she gladly explained, walking over to the vortex. "See you later, guys! It's been fun!" Atem gasped and rushed forward, grabbing the girl by the hand before she could step inside the swirling hole._

"_Wait…you're leaving?" he asked. "But…you've only been here for a short while…" The little girl turned back around to face the upset prince._

"_I know…but I really do have to get back home." she consoled. "My parents can't stand it when I'm late."_

"_Can't you stay for a while longer?" Atem pleaded. "I was hoping we could stay together…at least for a while longer…" The little girl continued gazed into the sad eyes of the Egyptian prince, empathizing with his emotions. But she continued to smile warmly at him._

"_I think I have an idea…" she told him, softly pulling her hand from his grasp. Atem watched closely as his new friend pulled an odd-looking ring off her right finger, and then placed it in his hand. "Here; I want you to have this to remember me by." she insisted, curling his fingers around the jewelry. "If you keep something of mine, it will almost be like we're still together. Who knows; maybe one day it'll lead me back to you!" Atem stared in awe at the ring. As it glistened in the sun, he found himself smiling once again, his sadness quickly fading._

"_Thank you…I'll take good care of it…" the young royal promised. "…Here…I want you to have something of mine, too…" Atem quickly pulled off a golden ring off of his own finger and held it out. "Please take it," he urged her, "So that you will remember me, as well!" The little girl carefully took the jewel-encrusted band from him._

"_Wow, thanks! I promise to keep it safe for you! " she swore to him. She quickly turned back towards the vortex, and Atem, Mahad, and Mana watched as she approached it. Just as she was about to step inside, she stopped and turned to face them again. She grinned confidently, made one last peace sign, and finally, jumped into the hole, which vanished the moment her body passed through._

"_Who was that girl?" Mana asked, still wide eyed._

"_I don't know, Mana…I really don't know…" Mahad responded with a sigh. He looked over at Atem, who was still staring towards where the vortex had been moments before. "We should leave now, Your Highness." the young magician suggested, resting his hand on the prince's shoulder. "We do not want to be here when those criminals regain consciousness."_

_Atem didn't respond; he just continued to stare at the spot where the little girl feet had last touched the ground. As he gazed at the still fresh footprints in the sand, he slowly pulled the girl's ring onto his finger, and a peaceful smile appeared on his face. "Let's go home…" he finally said as he turned back to his friends. Mana and Mahad nodded in agreement, and with that, the three children took off towards the palace, leaving the bodies of the thieves in the desert sun._


	3. Chapter 3

"I wish I could tell you more, but that's where it ended." Yami finished with a sigh. "But anyway, I hope that clears some things up for - Yugi? Are you…_crying_?" Sure enough, Yugi's eyes were puffy, and tears were flowing down his cheeks like tiny waterfalls.

"Yami…that was so…_beautiful_!" the teenager sobbed, grabbing his surprised partner in a warm embrace. "It was just so sad, yet beautiful; it's the perfect story of a long-lasting friendship!" The little girl sighed and shook her head.

"Jeez, what a drama-queen." she groaned. "Teenagers are _way_ too emotional." She quickly got to her feet and turned away, placing her hands behind her head. "Think I'll take a look around this place." she decided, starting to leave. "I'll see you guys around."

"Wait!" Yami cried, letting go of Yugi and standing up. "I have to ask you something first!" The girl spun back around in an instant, curiosity in her expression. "Will I ever be able to see you again?" the pharaoh wondered anxiously. "Or…have you already left the world of the living?" Yugi, who had recovered from his emotional moment, seemed confused by the strange question.

"Yami, what are you talking about?" he questioned the pharaoh as he got up. "She's right in front you." The little girl laughed nervously, looking away.

"Right…about that…" the girl confessed. "Technically…I'm _not_." Yugi, not sure if he heard the girl correctly, blinked in a puzzled manor. A whole minute passed before he suddenly mouth dropped open in shock.

"_What_?!" he cried out, nearly bursting Yami's eardrum. "But then what are you-how are you-WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"Well, Aibou…this girl isn't _actually_ the same person that I met back then…" Yami tried to explain, rubbing his now ringing ears. "She is only a part of my mind."

"You mean…like a personified version of your memory?" Yugi asked. Yami nodded, but sighed sadly.

"But that's the problem, Yugi…" the pharaoh claimed, before sitting back down and bringing his knees to his chest. "I don't know where she actually is…or if she's even alive anymore…" Yugi's eyes widened suddenly.

"But Yami, that ring isn't-" he started to say.

"After all, it was five thousand years ago." the pharaoh interrupted, not even realizing Yugi had been speaking. "The only reason _I'm_ still here is because of the Millennium Puzzle."

"But Yami-"

"I just can't think of any way she could have survived." Yami mourned. "I just wish I'd had the chance to-" Yugi suddenly bent down and slapped his hand over his friend's mouth to silence him. Yami, who hadn't expected this, looked up at Yugi in surprise.

"Yami, could you _please_ let me finish a sentence?" Yugi begged. Yami nodded silently, since he was obviously supposed to keep quiet. "Good. Now listen…I don't think that girl is dead at all…"

"Ymm dmn't?" Yami asked, his voice muffled by Yugi's palm.

"Not at all…" The teen uncovered Yami's mouth and grabbed the hand that the strawberry ring decorated. "This ring is made out of plastic; there's no way this could be from your time." Yugi figured. "In fact, now that I think about it, I pretty sure I used to see girls my age wear stuff like this back when I was in grade school." The pharaoh's eyes lit up with hope almost immediately.

"You mean…she's still alive?!" he asked, excitement rising in his tone.

"There's a pretty good chance." Yugi claimed. "And she's probably still pretty young: maybe even around my age."

"So I'm not dead; great!" the little girl acclaimed just before turning her back to them. "Now, if you're both satisfied, I'll be leaving…"

"But when will I use you again?" Yami called to her as she walked away. "And how will I know where to find you?"

"Oh, don't worry about finding me; I'll probably come to you." she insisted, looking back. "Just make sure you're not in any danger next time, okay?" Yami cracked a smile and giggled softly.

"I'll try," he pledged happily. "But I can't make any promises." The girl grinned cheerfully, and ran off in the other direction to explore her new surroundings.

"Bye, Pharaoh! Bye, Weirdo – I mean – Yugi!" she yelled back at the two boys. Yugi stared in annoyance as she made a sharp turn into a hallway and vanished, not charmed by her little joke. But he had to admit; that kid was pretty amusing, even if she was kind of rude.

"Umm…Aibou?" Yami asked suddenly, interrupting the teen's train of thought.

"What is it, Yami?" Yugi asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine…" Yami assured him. "It's just…I thought you told me you had something to do today…" Yugi stared at the pharaoh in confusion, contemplating his statement. Once he'd actually realized what Yami had said, the teenage duelist's eyes went wide with terror, and he let out a panicked scream.

"That's right, I promised to help Grandpa in the shop today!" he shouted frantically. "This is so bad! If I don't get down there, Mom's gonna _kill_ me!" Yugi scrambled to his feet, and ran for the door. But just as he was about to grab the handle, he turned back to face his partner, who was still sitting on the floor. "Will you be alright by yourself?" the teen wondered, still concerned over Yami's previous episode. "You're not feeling dizzy or anything, are you?"

"I'll be alright, Yugi." the pharaoh insisted with a reassuring smile. "You don't have anything to worry about."

"Well, if you say so…" Yugi accepted, though not completely satisfied. "But I want you to contact me through the mind link if you feel like something's wrong, okay? And try not to move around much." Yami nodded obediently, and so Yugi, now confident that his friend was okay was okay, ran out into the hall, closing the door to the soul room behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_That Night, Many Hours Later_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dark in the city now, and less than a fourth of the population of Domino remained out on the dimly lit streets. No one was paying much mind to anyone else; all of them had their own business to attend to, and figured they didn't have the time to stop and make contact with strangers. So they all simply walked on to their destinations, not a single eye meeting another.

But as they continued on, the unsuspecting citizens failed to notice a strange light emerge from within one of Domino's many side alleys. Deep within the darkness, a strange portal-like circle of energy was forming at a rapid pace. Its glow penetrated the shadows with ease, through the shadows, giving off a strong, but eerie dark purple light, and had anyone noticed it, they surely would have felt the evil force emitting from its presence.

As the portal reached about six feet in diameter, a foot slowly stepped out of the swirling abyss and onto the hard pavement of the alley. It didn't take long for a second foot to appear, and within another few moments, a figure with white hair and eyes of dark brown came forth, dressed in a black trench coat. Bakura, the former king of the Egyptian thieves, stood in the darkness, his mouth twisted into an evil grin.

"Ah, sweet freedom…" he sighed wickedly. "And here I was starting to doubt your little escape plan…" As he said this, another man with spiky white-blonde hair and a tan complexion suddenly emerged from the portal as well, wearing a black muscle shirt and cargo pants.

"You should know me better than that, Kura…" Marik, Malik Ishtar's alter ego, claimed. "When I say there's a way out of the Shadow Realm, there's a way out." Bakura swiftly turned to him with a menacing glare.

"What the bloody hell did I tell you about calling me that?!" the thief king asked furiously, a vein throbbing in his forehead. The psychopath pouted, pretending to be disappointed.

"What's the matter?" he wondered sarcastically. "I thought we were friends." Bakura gritted his teeth. How he loathed that mocking face.

"Our relationship is strictly business, Marik." Bakura growled. "I'll admit that without you, I probably wouldn't be here right now, and that it's best if we work together from now on. But we are _not _friends, and we never will be." Marik chuckled, quite entertained by his new partner's anger.

"Oh, don't be such a downer." the evil Egyptian insisted. "Besides, do we really want to spend our first moments of freedom arguing?" Bakura still seemed mad, but just looked away. Marik had a point. Ever since the two men had met up in the Shadow Realm, they'd been planning their escape into the real world. It had taken them almost a month to find a weak point in the dimensional wall that separated the two worlds, and now that they were finally out, the last thing the thief king wanted to do was waist time.

"Whatever." Bakura agreed reluctantly. "Anyway, I'd say it's about time we move on to more important matters – more specifically, the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle."

"Ah, yes…the pharaoh…" Marik remembered. "As I recall, you said that you had some new plan to gain his powers, correct?"

"That's right…" Bakura stated confidently. "It's more of an idea than a plan, really. But with our combined power and genius, it should work fine." Marik groaned in annoyance.

"Enough with the dramatic build-up, already! Just tell me what it is!" he ordered impatiently. "And for the record, this plan had better involve me torturing something." Bakura laughed quietly, grinning wickedly.

"Alright, Marik…I'll tell you…" the thief decided. "But first, answer me this…what do you believe went wrong with your last plan; you know…during the Battle City tournament?" Marik raises an eyebrow. What kind of question was that?

"Well, I don't know…" the psychopath claimed. "It would have worked perfectly if that I could have defeated that damned Yugi Mutou in a duel!"

"Exactly…_that_ was the problem…" Bakura informed him. "The entire plan revolved completely around Duel Monsters. In order to take the pharaoh's power, it was necessary to defeat little Yugi in a duel to obtain the Millennium Puzzle. But when you lost those duels, the plan fell apart, and you were sent to the Shadow Realm."

"Well, I suppose you're right." Marik admitted.

"Of course I am; I'm _always_ right." the thief king declared.

"But what are you getting at, anyway?" Marik continued. "How exactly does _your _plan eliminate said 'problem'?"

"It's simple, really…" Bakura responded. "Instead of going through all this dueling to remove the pharaoh's power…we're just going to take the 'package deal'…"

"Ooooh…I don't get it." Marik admitted, looking lost. Bakura rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"We're going to take the pharaoh _and_ his powers, you fool." the thief clarified with a growl. With a clearer understanding of the sinister plot, Marik cracked a wicked grin.

"Ah, I see…by simply taking the pharaoh, we'll no need to duel for ownership of the Millennium Puzzle." the Egyptian maniac finally realized. "But wouldn't it be impossible to do so without taking little Yugi as well? They share a body, after all; you can't really have one one without the other"

"You shouldn't be so closed minded…" Bakura chuckled. "I have no interest in that little brat. Trust me; the pharaoh is the only one we'll be taking…"

"And how, exactly, are you going to accomplish the impossible, fool?" the psychotic Egyptian questioned, crossing his arms in frustration.

"I managed to give you and I separate bodies from Malik and Ryou, didn't I?" Bakura reminded his accomplice. "And all that took was some shadow magic and a little old spell."

"That was different; we were already separated from our other halves." Marik argued. "To make this work, Yugi and the pharaoh would need two separate bodies, and there's no way to do that without sending one to the Shadow Realm."

"I'm not sure whether to be amused or insulted by your lack of faith in me, Marik." the thief sneered. "You'd be surprised just how many tricks I have up my sleeve." Marik's eyes widened, his interest starting to grow.

"Wait – are you saying that you can actually-"

"Who knows; I don't know…maybe I can, maybe I can't." Bakura teased. "I suppose you'll just have to wait and see, now won't you?"

By now, Marik's right eye was practically twitching. The psychotic blonde only enjoyed suspense when he was the one keeping people in it, so Bakura's indirect and confusing answers were really starting to aggravate him.

Marik opened his mouth, wanting to ask a few more questions with the hope of a less mind racking response. But before he had the chance, Bakura turned away from him and began to slowly stroll towards the open street.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" the psychopath wondered.

"The museum, of course." Bakura replied, acknowledging Marik with a glance over his shoulder. "After all, that's most likely where your other half's is keeping our Millennium Items."

"Hmm…I suppose she _would_ take them where they would be guarded around the clock." Marik figured, quickly catching up to Bakura and walking by his side. "Good thinking, Kura. We can use the Millennium Ring to find little Yugi, and if the pharaoh gives us any trouble, the Millennium Rod should be able to keep him under control."

"Precisely." the thief king agreed. "We'll need a couple of other things, too. But I'll take care of all that toni-" Bakura's eyes suddenly widened before quickly squinting into a glare, and his face turned red with fury. "QUIT CALLING ME THAT, YOU BLOODY WANKER!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Marik just laughed at him.

"Alright, I'm done." the psychotic Egyptian promised. "No more. I promise."

"Good." Bakura hissed. "Now come on; we have much to do in preparation for tomorrow." The two allies finally walked out of the alley and down the sidewalk towards their intended destination. As they blended into the crowd, the thief smiled to himself.

'_Enjoy this night while you can, Pharaoh.' _he thought. _'It's the last one you'll be spending with your pathetic little friends…'_


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning was much cooler and sunny than it's muggy predecessor from the day before. Kame Game would be opening soon, and since his mother would be out running errands while his grandfather would soon be busy in the shop, Yugi had decided to call up his friends and invite them over to hang out. Within the half hour, they were all sitting comfortably in the living room, where Yugi was telling them about the events from the previous day.

"So let me see if I'm hearing you right…" Ryou tried to understand, seeming confused. "You're saying that there's a little girl living in the pharaoh's mind because she's a memory of a real little girl who saved his life when he young, and that even though that was over 5,000 years ago, there's a possibility that she's still alive in present day?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Yugi verified. "So what do you guys think?"

"Well…it's not _the _weirdest thing we've ever heard…" Tristan answered.

"Definitely not as weird as dat one dream ya told us about way back." Joey claimed. "You know…the one with the cat-eared bunny in rain boots eatin' spinach."

"Joey, you said you'd never talk about that again!" Yugi whimpered, bright red with anger and embarrassment.

"Aw, don't be embarrassed, Yuge." Joey teased with a slightly mocking grin. "Dreams like dat are just a normal part of your adolescent development."

"Joey, knock it off. Bunnies in rain boots are the last thing we need to worry about right now." Téa ordered sternly before turning back to the smaller teen. "So Yugi, how did the pharaoh take all of this, anyway? Is he okay?"

"Well, he says he's alright. But I'm not so sure." Yugi explained. "He's been pretty depressed about not knowing where that girl could be; I don't even think he's listening in to our conversation right now."

"I figured as much." Téa sighed with worry. "Poor Yami…he must be so heartbroken. Isn't there anything we can do to help him?"

"Well I say we should go find the kid!" Joey declared, standing up with a look of confidence and determination. "If we bring her back here, the pharaoh'll be back to normal in no time: problem solved!" Instead of the praise the blonde duelist had been expecting, his friends just stared at him in disbelief. Confused by this, Joey raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable with the silence. "What'd I say?"

"Joey, we have no idea who this girl is, where she lives, or even what she looks like." Ryou stated. "Don't you think that finding her would be a bit…difficult?"

"Well ya didn't think it'd be easy, did ya?" Joey questioned. "But dat's what makes it interestin'; we could be walkin' straight into our next adventure!" Naturally, the others were less than optimistic about the idea, hanging their heads in exhaustion

"Okay, I think that's enough brainstorming for now." Téa said wearily.

"I'm with her." Tristan agreed. "Who knew thinking could be this exhausting?"

"Well, thanks anyway, you guys." Yugi thanked his friends. "I really appreciate it, and I'm sure Yami will, too." Before anything else could be said, the gang was suddenly distracted by the familiar sound of rhythmic banging on wood.

"Is that the door?" Ryou wondered as he glanced towards the direction the noise came from.

"Sounds like it ta me…" Joey replied. "I didn't know you were expectin' anyone else, Yuge."

"Neither did I..." Yugi claimed. As the knocking started up again, he rose from his seat on the couch, and headed for the hall. "I'd better see who it is. I'll be back in a second."

Yugi calmly exited the living room and strolled down the hallway leading to the game shop, casually passing by the decorative hall table and some family photos hanging on the wall. As he stepped into the shop, the teen went straight to the front door, which was still being pounded on. "Who is it?" he asked curiously, leaning an ear against the door in case of a responsible

"Yugi? Is that you?" a male voice called in slight panic. "Please, open the door. We have to talk to you: _now_." Yugi

'That voice…it's Malik's…" he thought, quickly unhooking the chain and opening the door. Sure enough, Malik Ishtar was standing in the doorway, and standing next to him was Ishizu. Both of them seemed extremely anxious, as though something was bothering them. "Guys, what the matter?" the small teen wondered. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not, Yugi…" Ishizu replied, stepping in front of her brother. "Something terrible has happened…and I fear that something worse is yet to come."

"Something worse?" Yugi asked, more fearfully now. "But what happened? I don't understand."

"Yugi…" the clairvoyant woman mourned, "I'm afraid…that two of the Millennium Items were stolen last night…" Yugi's face turned pale in an instant, and a look of shock slipped onto his face.

"_Stolen_?!" he gasped, eyes wide with terror. "Are you absolutely sure?!"

"Positive. We were keeping all the Millennium Items in our possession at the Domino Museum, except for Ishizu's necklace." Malik explained. "And last night, someone broke in and took two of the items. They left the room where we were keeping them a mess."

"Please, may we come in?" Ishizu beseeched the teenager. "The rest of the details should be told somewhere more private."

"Of course; come on in." Yugi insisted, stepping out of their way. The two tomb keepers entered the house in a few swift steps, and Yugi immediately followed them, closing the front door as he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_A Short While Later_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the living room, the Ishtars had joined Yugi and his friends. However, the reunion was not a very joyful one, as the gang wasn't taking the news of the stolen Millennium Items very well; more specifically, a certain blonde.

"I don't believe this! Who the hell does this bastard think he is?!" Joey growled, storming back and forth with veins throbbing in his forehead. "I swear, when I get my hands on him, I'll…I'll…well, I don't know what I'll do yet, but it's gonna hurt like hell!" Everyone else simply watched as he expressed his rage, their heads following his every move.

"Does he always react to bad news like this?" Malik asked in a whisper.

"No, not at all." Tristan replied. "This reaction is _way _less dramatic than ones he's had before."

"I am _not_ dramatic!" Joey angrily disagreed. "I'm just pissed dat after all we did to get those Items together again, some creep went and took 'em!"

"Well being angry about it isn't gonna solve anything, Joey." Téa stated in a scolding manner. "If we're going to figure this out, we need to find this thief.

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Ryou wondered.

"Well, they could have left something behind." Yugi proposed, turning back to Malik and Ishizu. "Did you guys find anything suspicious at the scene? Maybe something that wasn't there before?"

"Well, we did search the room. But all we found were shards of broken glass from the case the items were in." Malik informed them. "There's no physical evidence to link a certain person to the robbery…but…"

"But what? " Yugi questioned curiously. "What is it?"

"Well…there is something that's been bothering us about this whole thing." Malik admitted.

"And it brings us great concern…" Ishizu added. "You see…out of all the items that could have been taken…the two that were stolen…Were the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Rod…"

* * *

><p>Solomon was in the shop, rearranging some of the items on the shelves. As he straightened the last of the misaligned rows of boxes, the elderly man backed up a few steps and inspected the shelves carefully. Satisfied with the job he'd done, he smiled, and headed towards the counter to take care of some other business. But before he even had the chance, someone began to knock on the door with great force.<p>

Sighing in exhaustion, Solomon turned around and made his way towards the door. "Just how many people did that grandson of mine invite over, anyway?" he thought aloud. "Honestly, you'd think I was running some kind of club instead of a game shop." As he reached the door, the banging continued, growing louder. "Alright, alright! I'm coming!" the old man called. "Goodness…whoever this fellow is, he sure is in a hurry…" So not wanting to keep the visitor waiting any longer, Solomon turned the lock, grabbed the handle, and pulled the door wide open.

* * *

><p>"The Millennium Ring…and the Millennium Rod?!" Ryou choked out nervously. "But…but those are-"<p>

"Yes, I know…" Ishizu sighed woefully. "They were once wielded by you and Malik, as well as…_them_…" The children all silently shuddered in unison as the memories of the pain that Bakura and Marik had caused slowly returned. They would never forget all those who suffered because of their wickedness and cruelty.

"But what do they have to do with this?" Téa asked. "Aren't they trapped in the Shadow Realm?" Her worlds seemed to bring the others some comfort, as the sighed in relief as they recalled of the imprisonment of the two evil spirits.

"Yeah, that's right…" Tristan remembered. "Those two are long gone; there's no way they can be behind this, can they?" Ishizu hung her head slightly, taking a deep breath.

"I used to believe that as well …however, I'm not quite sure anymore…" she confessed, touching a hand to the Millennium Necklace around her neck. "Recently, Millennium Necklace sensed strong shadow energy being used to attack the barrier between this world and the Shadow Realm, as though something – or someone – was trying to escape…"

"Say _what_?!" Joey practically shrieked. "Are you tellin' us dat those two psychos actually broke out of the Shadow Realm?! And they're just runnin' around doin' who knows what?!"

"Joey, calm down. It's only a possibility." Malik insisted. "It takes a huge amount of energy to even make a crack in the barrier; more than what Ishizu sensed was being used, anyway."

"I don't know …" Tristan said doubtfully. "I wouldn't put it past those two to find some way around all that."

"Well, to be honest, I'm not even sure if it was them." Yugi suggested. "Think about it: there are hundreds of souls in the Shadow Realm, some we don't even know about. How can we be sure that either Marik or Bakura are even involved?" Everyone took a moment to think it over. What Yugi said was true. The only thing linking the two villains to any of this was the fact that the Millennium Ring and Millennium Rod were missing. Could it just be a coincidence that those were the items taken?

"I guess you're right, Yugi." Ryou stated. "We don't have any absolute proof they did it."

"Or that they even escaped in the first place." Téa agreed. "Maybe we're just overthinking this whole thing."

"Yeah…I guess the whole idea is pretty ridiculous." Joey claimed with a laugh. "I mean seriously: what are the chances of Bakura and Marik actually comin' back?" Loud thuds suddenly came from outside the living room, drawing everyone's attention to the direction they came from.

"What was that?" Malik wondered curiously.

"It's coming from the game shop." Yugi realized. "Grandpa must be moving some things around. I'd better go see if he needs any help." For the second time that day, the Yugi rose from his seat, left the room, and walked quietly down the hall. As he reached the doorway to the shop, the teen sighed softly. "Grandpa, you're not moving anything heavy, are you?" he asked, slightly concerned. "You know that doing that's bad for your-" Yugi didn't finish his sentence; he was to shocked by what he saw.

Solomon was on his hands and knees, cringing in pain. He was trying to stand up, but appeared to be having a great amount of trouble doing so. "Grandpa!" Yugi cried out in fear. He rushed over to his grandfather, grabbing him gently by the arm and pulling him up. "Are you alright?! What happened?!"

"Yugi…you mustn't stay here …" Solomon groaned as he got back onto his feet. "You and your friends…have to get out…"

"Get out?" a puzzled Yugi repeated. "Grandpa, what are you talking about?"

"Please Yugi, you must leave now! They're already here; you don't have much time!"

"Just give it up, old man." a voice suddenly hissed from behind them. "There no point in warning anyone now." Yugi flinched abruptly, a fearful look in his eyes. A tight knot quickly formed in the teenager's stomach, and his body started to tremble as chills crawled down his spine. That voice – that dark, sinister voice that spoke with no fear and had haunted him for months on end – the fact that he was hearing it now was utterly terrifying.

Though every fiber in his body told him to do otherwise, Yugi slowly turned around to face the speaker. Sure enough, what he feared to be true was came into his view; Bakura and Marik, his greatest adversaries, were standing only a few feet away from him. And to make matters worse, the teen could see that the two were in possession on the missing Millennium Items; the Ring was around Bakura's neck, while the Rod was clutched tightly in Marik's right hand. "Hello, Yugi…" Bakura grinned. "It's been quite a while…we have so much to catch up on…"

"No…it's not possible…" Yugi whispered in terror. "It's just not possible…"

"Aww, what's the matter? You seem frightened." Marik analyzed with phony concern. "Not that it's a bad look for you. In fact, I sort of like it." Yugi swallowed hard. He was certain that he'd never felt more terrified than he did at that very moment. But to let Marik and Bakura see him in such a frightened, panicky state would only make things worse for him. So despite the strong urge to simply break down and cry, Yugi stayed calm, taking great care to hide his fear from his enemies.

"What are you two doing here?!" Yugi interrogated furiously. "There's no way you could have escaped the Shadow Realm!"

"Come now, Yugi; you should know that there's always a loop hole in every situation." Bakura snickered. "In our case, it was a single weak point in the wall that annoying barrier."

"Well I don't care how they got here; I want them out of my shop!" Solomon seethed, stepping in front of his grandson. "You hooligans had better leave if you know what's good for you!" Marik and Bakura simply glanced at each other, before bursting into a short fit of cruel laughter. As they regained their composure, Marik grabbed Solomon by his overalls and roughly shoved him off to the side, causing the old man to fall to the floor on his back.

"Grandpa!" Yugi gasped. He tried to run over to help his grandfather, but the two former spirits blocked his way.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?" Marik asked. "You have something we want, and we don't plan on letting you go until we get it." Yugi only glared.

"It figures…you two teamed up so you could steal my Puzzle, didn't you?!" Yugi assumed, grabbing the chain connected to the Millennium Item. "Well, you'll never get it! I'll never let you steal Yami's powers!" Once again, Bakura and Marik only laughed at him.

"Poor, clueless Yugi…" Bakura said sympathetically, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that the Millennium Puzzle is only _one_ of the things I've come to take from you today." Suddenly, Marik came forward, and in one swift motion, he grabbed Yugi violently, pulling him closer. The teen shrieked as the psychopath pulled his arms above his head and held them there tightly so that he couldn't fight back.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Yugi ordered.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen. By the way, if I were you, I wouldn't squirm around too much." Marik informed him before turning him towards Bakura. "Who knows what could happen if you move during this; you might end up with two heads or something."

"What are you talking about?!" Yugi asked, a bit more fearful now. "What are you going to do?!" Bakura chuckled, raising his right hand and touching Yugi's forehead with his fingers.

"Oh, believe me; you'll find out soon enough." the thief king sneered. At that moment, a dark swirling energy suddenly appeared around Bakura's hand. Yugi gasped, and attempted keep the evil aura from touching him. But it was no use; as he tried back away, Marik held him firmly in place. The teen could only watch in horror as the dark cloud of energy crept towards his forehead. "Now hold still…" Bakura ordered, smiling sadistically. "I promise this won't hurt…_much_…"


	5. Chapter 5

Yugi wasn't exactly sure what had occurred for the following ten or so seconds, as he could only recall his own agonized screaming and the searing pain that had coursed through his body as shadow energy flowed into him. But the next thing he knew, he was on his hands and knees, panting heavily in exhaustion. As he tried to catch his breath, he heard multiple footsteps and panicking voices come from the hallway and into the room towards him. "Yugi!" he heard Solomon shout. "Are you alright?!" Yugi, who was now starting to come to his senses, lifted his head. His friends and grandfather were all standing around him, looking extremely concerned.

"I'm fine guys." he assured them, slowly getting back on his feet. "Just a little shaken up, that's all."

"Well, if it isn't the goodie-two-shoes gang come to help little Yugi." Marik said with fake sweetness. "That's so cute. It's enough to make you want to vomit." The gang just glared at the two villains.

"So it was true. You two did escape from the Shadow Realm." Ishizu realized. "And as I thought, you stole those Millennium Items as well."

"Oh please; _you're_ the ones who robbed _us_." Bakura claimed. "Technically, we should press charges; but we'll be nice and let it slide."

"Forget the damn legal issues; what do you bastards want?!" Joey yelled.

"Funny…I thought that'd be obvious by now…" Bakura responded. "If you can't even figure that out, you're all even dumber than I thought." But Yugi knew exactly what the reason was. And as he gave himself a quick once-over, he noticed that reason was no longer anywhere on his person.

"The Puzzle!" he practically choked out. Terrified by the Millennium Item's sudden disappearance, the teen frantically searched the floor for it, but to no avail. How could this have happened; how could he have lost it?! That is…if he's even 'lost it' in the first place. "_You_…" he seethed, glaring at Bakura and Marik. "What did you do with my Millennium Puzzle?!"

"Well, aren't we quick to point fingers?" Marik said with a frown. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to make accusations about people?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Yugi…" Bakura apologized. "But neither Marik nor I have the Millennium Puzzle anywhere on our persons.

"Well if that's true, then where is it?!" Yugi asked in a threatening tone. "I know you know, so tell me: _now_!" Bakura just chuckled softly.

"Fine…if you insist…" he finally agreed, pointing in their direction. "Look behind you…I'm sure _he_ has the answer…" Yugi and the others seemed confused. Surely Bakura had to be lying; everyone who was in the house was standing in clear view. "Well…what are you waiting for?" the thief king wondered with a smile. "Don't you think he's been waiting long enough for you to notice him?" The group's confused expressions didn't change. But Bakura seemed quite serious, so they felt they had to at least see what he was talking about. So, they turned around.

Bakura had been telling the truth; lying against the wall behind them was the trembling body of a teenage boy, his eyes barely open and glazed over. Naturally, Yugi and the others were horrified by such a scene. However, it wasn't simply because they had only just noticed this extra person. What really scared them was that they were immediately able to recognize the boy's familiar clothing, spiked tri-colored hair, and the previously misplaced Millennium Puzzle around his neck.

"YAMI!" Yugi screamed in horror. Within seconds, he was kneeling in front of his other half, with everyone else close behind. "Yami, what's happened to you?!" the horrified teen asked, shaking Yami in a desperate attempt to bring him out of his stupor. "Snap out of it! Speak to me!" Yami blinked slowly, the gleam quickly returning to his eyes when he heard Yugi calling to him.

"…Yugi…" he moaned tiredly. He tried to stand up, but his legs almost immediately gave out, forcing Yugi to catch him. "I…heard you screaming…are you alright?"

"_Me_?! Yami, what about _you_?!" Yugi asked worriedly. "Look at you; you can't even stand!" The pharaoh stared at his partner and the others standing around him with confused and exhausted eyes, before giving them a faint smile.

"Don't worry, Aibou…I'll be okay." he claimed. Once again, he tried to support himself, and though his legs were shaky at first, he was successfully able to stand on his own. "See? I'm fine. But tell me, Yugi…how did you manage to get everyone else in here?"

"In here?" Téa repeated. "Yami, what do you mean?"

"Here; inside the Millennium Puzzle." Yami clarified. "Where else would I be?" Everyone looked around each other with concern. None of them were exactly sure how to tell the pharaoh about the current situation. But someone had to, right?

"Uh…yeah…about dat…" Joey laughed nervously, taking on the challenge. "Ya see…the thing is…we're not actually inside the Millennium Puzzle…and…neither are you…"

At first, Yami just looked at his friends with a doubtful expression. He had been confined within the immense mazes of the Puzzle for five millennia; this obviously had to be some kind of strange joke. Slowly, the pharaoh glanced around, noticing for the first time that the aged stone walls of the Puzzle had been replaced by the plaster ones of the game shop. He then looked down towards his chest, and there was his Millennium Item around his neck, gleaming slightly under the florescent lighting.

"I'm…not inside of it?" Yami realized in a soft voice. He cautiously touched his right hand to his face, retracting when he felt his own soft skin, and then stared at both hands and arms in confusion. "This body…it's…_mine_?!"

"Yes, Yami…" Yugi confirmed with a single nod. "You're outside of my body…and the Puzzle, too."

"But…_how_?" the pharaoh wondered. "How did this happen to me?"

"I don't really know…" Yugi responded, before turning towards the opposite wall where Marik and Bakura were standing. "But you two do, don't you?"

"An excellent deduction, little Yugi…" Bakura complimented. "Yes, it's true…I separated the two of you, giving the pharaoh there a body of his own." Yami almost immediately recognized the thief king's voice, and his expression clearly showcased how surprised he was to hear it after so long.

"Bakura?! And Marik?!" he cried out. "Aibou, what are _they_ doing here?!"

"Well, it's kind of a long story." Malik explained. "We'll try and explain it to you later." Bakura and Marik looked at each other for a short time. But suddenly, the two burst into a fit of wicked laughter, while Yugi, Yami and the others stared in confusion.

"Isn't that cute?" Marik chuckled. "They actually think there's going to be a 'later'."

"And why wouldn't there be one?" Tristan demanded to know.

"Well, there will be…just not with _him_." Bakura laughed. "See, we have many things to accomplish now that we're free…and the pharaoh's coming with us."

"What?! You're insane if you think I'll actually go anywhere with you!" Yami growled.

"Never said you had a choice." Marik informed him. "Now, why don't you make this easier on everyone and just come along quietly?" By now, Yami was fuming mad. The fact that his two greatest enemies had the audacity to just show up suddenly and start making demands was appalling to him.

"Never!" the pharaoh asserted in rage. "If you want me, you'll have to take me by force!"

"Very well, Pharaoh." Bakura accepted with a sly grin. "If you insist on going the hard way, I'll be happy to oblige."

"Go ahead and try!" Yami challenged the thief king. "I've beaten both of you before, and I can do it again!"

"No!" Yugi suddenly protested, running in front of the pharaoh. "Pharaoh, you can't do this! I won't let you!"

"Aibou, what are you doing?" Yami asked, confused by his partner's disapproval. "You don't have to bother yourself with this; just let me handle them-"

"No, Yami!" Yugi refused sternly. "Don't you see? They _want_ you to try and fight because you're not at full strength!" Yami seemed startled by this explanation. It didn't take long for him to realize that Yugi was right; though he was standing now, it was unlikely that he had completely adjusted to this new body, and Bakura and Marik would surely take advantage of that. "_You're_ the one they're after – not me, or anyone else – only _you_." the smaller teen continued. "If I let you take them on like this, I'll practically be handing you over!"

"Enough of this!" Bakura barked, annoyed by Yugi's sudden interference. "Get out of my way, shrimp; I have no interest in you!"

"I'm not moving!" Yugi yelled angrily, grabbing hold of his other protectively. "You can threaten me all you want, but I won't abandon him!"

"We're not gonna let you do this!" Téa declared. She stepped in the path of the two evil men as Yugi had, and everyone else soon followed. "We'll never let you have Yami!"

"Dat's right!" Joey said confidently. "If ya want _him_, you'll have ta go through _us_ first!"

Yami was speechless. He wasn't used to being protected like this, since it protection was something he usually provided. So the fact that his friends and allies were actually risk their own safety just to keep him out of harm's way was strange yet comforting to him. Unfortunately, Bakura and Marik didn't feel the same way.

"Ugh, this friendship crap is really starting to piss me off." Marik groaned with an annoyed glare.

"Agreed…but that's alright." Bakura smirked. "It's so much more rewarding when you have to work for what you want."

"How true…" the evil Egyptian agreed as the eye on the Millennium Rod began to glow. "And I'd say it's about time we get to work…"

A dark aura similar to the one from before suddenly enveloped the group, only excluding Yami. Marik then swung the Rod to the right in a harsh motion, and to the surprise of Yugi and others, they moved in the same direction. Seconds later, they had all slammed against the opposite wall.

"Guys!" Yami gasped in horror. He tried to run to his friends, but Bakura grabbed him by his black sleeveless top.

"I wouldn't worry about them, Pharaoh." the thief king suggested. He yanked Yami backwards and pulled him down on the floor, causing the pharaoh to cry out in pain. "You're never going to see them again, anyway."

"Yami!" Yugi cried. He tried to go help his partner, but found that he couldn't. The shadowy aura was fastening him and his friends to the wall, making escape impossible. "Bakura, stop it! You're hurting him!" But to his dismay, he was completely ignored.

Yami cringed as the thief got a hold of him again and violently threw him against the wall. The pharaoh recovered quickly though, and the Eye of Anubis began to glow on his forehead. He raised his right hand, preparing to use a mind crush. But before it could be carried out, Bakura managed to pin both of his arms to the wall with only one of his own. "Aww, too bad…I'll give you points for effort, though…" Bakura cruelly teased, grabbing Yami's chin with his free hand and receiving his furious gaze. "Clearly your skill with shadow magic isn't as developed as mine. But don't worry…if you behave, I just might teach you a few things."

"Get off him!" Yugi demanded, still desperately trying to escape the grip of the shadow energy. "Get your filthy hands off of him!" But Bakura didn't pay any mind to the angry teen, refusing to even turn and look at him.

"It's over, Pharaoh…I win…" Bakura declared. He released Yami's arms, but then wrapped an arm around his waist to prevent his escape. "And for my prize, I shall take _you_…"

"No! Let go!" Yami screamed, squirming around as he attempted to get away. "Dammit, let me go! Yugi, help me!"

"STOP IT!" Yugi shouted at the top of his lungs. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!"

"Now Pharaoh, there's no point in struggling." Bakura insisted, turning himself and Yami away from Yugi and the others so that they couldn't resume eye contact. "But let me guess: you're going to anyway. I suppose I'll just have to quiet you down." As he said this, the thief king began shuffling through his overcoat pocket. "Luckily, I have just the thing to quell that resistant attitude of yours…"

To Yami's surprise, Bakura revealed that he was holding a folded black cloth in his hand, which appeared to be dampened with some kind of liquid. Though he didn't know what exactly its purpose was, the pharaoh could tell it wasn't likely anything good. "What's the matter? You've never seen something like this before?" the thief asked, noticing the pharaoh's confusion. "Well, it doesn't matter…you'll find out soon enough…"

Yami gasped as Bakura firmly pressed the rag over his mouth and nose, allowing a strong, somewhat sweet odor to fill his airways. Confused and frightened, he began violently twisting around and clawing at the thief king's arms while letting out muffled cries of protest. But because he was breathing so frantically, it wasn't long before the fumes took their toll, making him feel dizzy. His vision started to come in and out of focus, and his struggling and yelling grew weaker and quieter by the second.

"That's it…just relax…" Bakura whispered soothingly, realizing the pharaoh was beginning to fade. "And when you wake up, you and I are going to have lots of fun together…" Yami only screamed angrily, showing his refusal to give in. He continued to try and free himself, fighting off the exhaustion for as long as he could. Sadly, that wasn't enough. Eventually, the sweet scent became too much for him to handle; within seconds, he was motionless in his adversary's arms, drifting off into a deep, dreamless slumber.

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it, Pharaoh?" Bakura asked, pulling the cloth away and carelessly dropping it. "You could have saved yourself so much time if you'd just given up in the first place."

"Yami, no! What's wrong with you?! Open your eyes!" Yugi begged his other. When no response came, the teen looked stared at Bakura with hateful eyes. "You monster! What did you do to him?!"

"Oh, calm down. I just put him to sleep, that's all…" the thief explained while he carefully pulled Yami's limp body up and over his shoulder. "After all, I can't have him causing a scene; it would attract too much negative attention."

"Ya fuckin' bastard!" Joey shouted. "I swear, when I get off this wall, I'm gonna knock ya both into next week!"

"That's nice, Blondie…" Marik congratulated him before he and Bakura headed for the door. "I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job. It's a shame we won't be here to see it."

"Don't you dare walk away from us!" Téa screamed. "Just who do you two think you are?!"

"You can't do this! I won't just let you treat Yami like he's some material item!" Yugi angrily protested. "I'll protect him from you! I won't let you have my friend!"

"…You know if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a weakling pretending to be strong." Bakura suddenly stated, looking back at them. "Think about this; every time we've faced each other, it's always been the pharaoh who was protecting you. And do you know why?" The question was met with complete silence, making the thief king snicker in amusement. "It's because you're a pathetic little weakling. Without him to fight your duels and make your decisions, you're nothing, and always will be." he continued. "And so, when he's the one in danger, you can do nothing but make your shallow little threats. Because no matter what you do, Yugi Muto, no matter how hard you try, you will always be weak. And that is why you will _never_ be able to protect the pharaoh."

By now, Yugi was gritting his teeth, his face red in fury. "No, that's not true!" he shouted, pulling harder at the shadow energy. "I _will_ protect him! I won't let you do this to him!"

"Whatever. If you're not going to listen there's no point in talking anymore." Bakura claimed. He walked to the door, swiftly pulling it open with his free hand. "Come on, Marik. Let's go."

"Tata, mortals!" Marik laughed. "It's been a pleasure torturing you." With that the two former spirits walked out, taking Yami and slamming the door behind them.

The moment they were gone, the dark aura dispersed, and everyone to fell to the floor with a loud thump. "I'm getting too old for this…" Solomon groaned to himself. "My back can't handle all this bumping around…"

"YAMI!" Yugi screamed. He rushed to the door, almost falling back down a few times as he did, yanking it open. As he ran out, he could feel the adrenaline flowing through his veins. _'Hold on, Yami!' _the teen thought. _'I'm coming for you!'_

* * *

><p>"Marik, hurry up!" Bakura ordered. "We don't have much time before they catch up!"<p>

"Okay, okay; I'm coming!" Marik groaned. "Jeez, you don't need to yell…" After getting out of Kame Game, the two former spirits had ducked into an alley in order to avoid being followed. They were now hastily walking through the connected backstreets, with Yami still draped over Bakura's right shoulder.

"We need to get the pharaoh out of here, and fast." the thief king stated. "Any ideas?" Marik glanced around, looking for any possible means of escape. It wasn't long before he noticed a middle-aged man getting out of a glistening black car just outside one of the alleys.

"I think I just got one." the psychopath claimed as his lips curled into a scheming grin. He left his ally's side and quickly made his way towards the vehicle, pulling out the Millennium Rod as he did. Once he was there, he tapped the man on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir…" Marik asked, sounding more polite than usual. "This wouldn't happen to be your car, would it?"

"Actually, yes." the man responded proudly. "I just bought it."

"Is that so…well, it isn't anymore…"

"Wha-AUUGH!" Within seconds, Marik had violently slammed the top of the Rod against the man's head, knocking him out in an instant.

"What the bloody hell was _that_?!" Bakura questioned, walking over and stepping around the inert stranger. "Why didn't you just send him to the Shadow Realm?!"

"That would've been too easy." Marik explained, removing the car keys from the man's pocket. "Hitting him was way more fun." Bakura groaned, slapping himself in the face with his free hand.

"Whatever…" he grumbled as he lowered the unconscious pharaoh from his shoulder and into his arms. "Just get the back door open so I can put him in." Marik was happy to oblige, clicking the appropriate button on the keys. As the psychopath disposed of the stranger's body in a nearby dumpster, Bakura carefully laid Yami across the backseat. Once he made sure their captive wouldn't shift around too much during the drive, he pushed the door closed. "There. That should be fine for now." the thief decided.

"Yami!" a familiar voice shouted from a distance. "Pharaoh, answer me!" Bakura scowled angrily.

"Shit, Yugi's getting closer!" he seethed, throwing the passenger side door open. "Why are you just standing there?! Hurry up and get us out of here!"

"Alright, fine! Just quit yelling at me, dammit!" the Egyptian psycho shouted back as he and his accomplice got inside the vehicle. "You know, you really should find some other way to express your frustration, Kura."

"JUST SHUT UP AND DRIVE, MARIK!"

In order to prevent Bakura from popping a blood vessel, Marik immediately jammed the key into the ignition, turning it and revving up the engine. Seconds later they had sped away from the curb, driving off down and turning onto a different street as soon as they could. It was only once they were completely out of sight that Yugi came racing down the alleyways.

"Yami, answer me!" the petrified teenager cried out. "If you can hear me, say something! Please!" Alas, the only response he received was his own quaking echo bouncing off the brick walls that surrounded him. Yugi collapsed to his knees, shaking violently. Warm tears streamed down his face, splashing gently against the worn concrete. "Please, Yami…answer me…" he sobbed one last time. "_Please_…" But he knew it was pointless. Bakura and Marik were gone. And so was Yami.


	6. Chapter 6

Yugi was sitting quietly on the living room couch, his head buried in his knees. As he silently mourned to himself about Yami's abduction, his grandfather and friends were desperately trying to bring him out of his depression. "Yugi, you shouldn't feel bad about this…" Solomon claimed. "It wasn't you're fault."

"It _was_ my fault…I couldn't stop them." Yugi disagreed, not even bothering to look up. "And because I wasn't strong enough, they took Yami away from me…"

"Yugi, listen…none of us ever thought this could happen." Téa insisted. "Marik and Bakura coming back, and the pharaoh getting separated from you and kidnapped; there was no way anyone could have foreseen that."

"But why?!" Yugi cried, finally revealing his tear-stained eyes. "Why did they have to take him?!"

"That's what I'd like to know." Tristan agreed. "Sure, they've always been after the Puzzle and its power. But since when have they physically needed Yami to get it?"

"It seems that they have grown tired of trying to win the Millennium Puzzle through the process of dueling." Ishizu analyzed.

"They're trying to avoid dueling all together by simply taking both the Item and its owner." Malik realized. "And my guess is that they want to gain control of the pharaoh …thus gaining control of his power…" Such a possibility seemed to horrify the others.

"Can they really do that?" Ryou asked. "I mean…Yami's not exactly the type to give in easily."

"That's true…the pharaoh would never give in to their demands willingly." Ishizu admitted. "However, Bakura and Marik possess a stronger understanding of their shadow magic now. With that kind of knowledge, not to mention the mind-altering powers of the Millennium Rod, they might actually be able for to gain control his mind…"

"Those lousy sons of bitches!" Joey growled. "They can't get away with this; we gotta go find 'em!"

"And how exactly do we do that?" Tristan questioned. "They could have taken him anywhere in the whole city by now."

"Well, we can't just sit here!" Joey argued. "For all we know, they could already be screwin' up his head!" As his friends continued to dispute over a solution, Yugi was off in his own world. He was deep in thought, remembering what Bakura had said to him before disappearing.

"_No matter what you do, Yugi Muto, no matter how hard you try, you will always be weak. And that is why you will never be able to protect the pharaoh."_ Yugi clenched his fists tightly as the thief king's cruel words played over and over again in his head. He could already picture it; Yami, wiped clean of his free will and the memories he'd worked so hard to get back, all because of Bakura and Marik's selfish desires for power and world domination. Just thinking about his other half being brainwashed into an eternal life of servitude made him feel sick inside. Sick and furious.

While the others kept bickering, Yugi slowly got off the couch, and walked towards the living room archway. After yanking his blue jacket off of the coat rack, he quietly took a seat on the floor and slipped on his black and white sneakers. It was only after he'd gotten back up and pulled on his jacket that his friends took notice. "Yugi, where are you going?" Tea wondered, looking confused.

"To find Yami." the shorter teenager replied, still looking towards the hallway. "He needs me…I have to get to him before it's too late"

"But right now, Yugi? We don't even have a-"

"Look…" Yugi boldly interrupted. "I don't have time for plans right now. Usually, a plan would be my first priority; but today, that's not the case…" The teen turned back to look at his allies his amethyst eyes filled with unusual determination. "Bakura said that I was a weakling; that there was nothing I could do to protect Yami…but I'm going to prove him wrong." he continued. "I'll find them if it kills me…I will stop them…because nobody hurts my partner and gets away with it…" Yugi turned back around, taking a step forward to leave. But before he could, Joey grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Hold it, tough guy…" the blonde duelist demanded, spinning his smaller friend back toward them. "The way you're talkin', ya make it sound like we're not gonna help ya."

"You mean…you're actually coming?" Yugi asked, seeming a bit surprised by the quick acceptation of his plans.

"Of course we're coming." Tristan insisted. "Yami's our friend too, you know. Did you really think we were just going to wait here and let you do all this on your own?"

"Well, no…" the teen said quietly. "But I don't want you guys to get-"

"Look, Yugi: we want to help Yami just as much as you do. And you're right; time's not something we have on our side right now." Téa made clear. "So danger or no danger, we're with you one hundred percent." For a second, Yugi was silent. But soon, a wide happy smile emerged from a solemn expression. He should have known better; his friends would never abandon him or the pharaoh.

"Well, I guess it's decided then…we leave now…" he declared. He turned back towards the doorway, feeling more confident now that he had the support of his allies. _'Hang in there, Yami…'_ Yugi thought. _'We're coming for you…'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Somewhere in Domino_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, I think you gave him too much of the plant juice stuff. I'm mean seriously; he's been out for like, _two hours_."

"Chloroform isn't plant juice, you imbecile! You're mixing it up with chloro_phyll_!"

"Whatever…I still think you gave him too much, though…"

Yami moaned weakly as he regained consciousness, the arguing voices having dragged him out of his slumber. "See? He's waking up now…" Despite feeling completely exhausted, the pharaoh's eyelids gently fluttered and slowly opened. As his vision came back into focus, he saw Bakura and Marik, standing on opposite sides in front of him. "Why hello, Pharaoh…" Bakura greeted. "Did you have a nice nap?" Their captive, his thoughts in complete disorganization, didn't respond. He only began glancing around with a dazed look on his face. He could see that he was in an average sized room–perhaps an office–with a single small window. There was a large desk in the middle of the room, and the walls were an eerie dark gray, giving the area a cold feeling.

"Where…where am I?" Yami mumbled, though to no one in particular.

"What, you don't you remember?" Marik questioned. "Geez, that stuff you gave him must have really put him out of it, Bakura." Yami's eyes grew wide in surprise. His memories quickly returned; Bakura and Marik had invaded the game shop and given him his own body, and despite his efforts to resist, Bakura had managed to knock him unconscious. Now wide awake, the pharaoh tried to move, but quickly found that he couldn't. He was bound to a chair, his arms, hands and ankles tied with sturdy ropes.

"What is this?!" Yami cried out, confused and angry. "Bakura, what's going on here?! What have you done with my friends?!"

"Nothing; we left them right where they were." the thief assured him. "You should have seen it, Pharaoh; the way little Yugi tried so hard to stop us from taking you. It was so…what's the word…_pathetic_." Yami gritted his teeth furiously, his eyes piercing like daggers.

"How dare you insult my partner!" he seethed, violently tugging at ropes. "It may not be physical power, but he has more strength then either of you!"

"Oh, I'm _so_ sure…" Marik teased, prodding the pharaoh's cheek. "Too bad all that strength did nothing for him. Or you, for that matter."

"Don't touch me!" Yami shouted as he twisted his head away from psychopath's reach. "Why have you brought me here? What in the name of Osiris could you possibly want after all this time?!"

"We want the power, Pharaoh; _your_ power." Bakura responded, leaning in closer. "We need it…and you're going to give it to us." Yami glared at his captors, looking unimpressed by their intentions.

"Well if that's still the case, you're much dumber than I thought." he stated. "You can't take the Millennium Puzzle or my powers without beating me or Yugi in a duel, and you and I both know that will never happen."

"Hmmm…perhaps you're right, Pharaoh…" Bakura admitted, but with a sly expression. "But then again…I can't take something I already have, now can I?" A startled Yami looked down towards his chest nervously. For the first time since regaining consciousness, he noticed that his Millennium Item was gone.

"Where is it?!" he demanded to know. "You tell me where it is right now!"

"Oh, relax; there's no point in getting all worked up." Marik claimed. "If you really must know, it's over there." The psychotic Egyptian pointed to the left, and sure enough, there was the Puzzle, dangling from a rusted hook drilled into the wall.

"Return it to me at once, you cowards!" Yami ordered. "You can't do anything with it, anyway!"

"Well we didn't take it so that _we_ could use it." Bakura revealed. "We took it so that you _couldn't_."

"So I couldn't use it?" the captive royal repeated. "Why? Just what exactly are you two planning?"

"You silly little pharaoh…so clueless of your own fate… " Marik laughed. "We've decided not to try and take your powers from you anymore…you're just going to use them the way we want you." Yami didn't know whether to be horrified or disgusted. But not wanting to show fear to his worst enemies, he chose the latter.

"You bastards…do you actually think I'd help you do anything?!" the pharaoh growled. "I won't be some weapon at your disposal!"

"You say that as if you have another option, Pharaoh." Bakura said with a chuckle.

"And you say that like you own me!" Yami screamed back. "I am _not_ your servant! And nothing you two do or say to me will _ever_ make me obey you!" Bakura and Marik were silent, only glancing at each other.

"Well, Marik…it seems the pharaoh is being quite defiant." Bakura stated.

"Yes…he's being a very naughty boy…" Marik agreed, slowly pulling out the Millennium Rod and pointing it towards the pharaoh. "What do you say we teach him a lesson about respecting his new superiors?"

"What an excellent idea…"

Yami let out an ear-piercing scream as he felt the painful sensation of the Millennium Rod attempting to influence his thoughts. As the agonized royal began to squirm in discomfort, Bakura approached him leaning down close to his ear. "Now listen here, Pharaoh…" the thief king whispered. "You don't get to make your own decisions anymore. That's our job now…understand?"

"Don't tell me what to do, you-" Before Yami could finish, another surge of pain hit his mind, causing him to cry out for a second time.

"Ssshhh…just listen, Pharaoh…listen and obey..." the thief insisted in a quiet, almost comforting voice. "From now on, you are to do only what I tell you to…I am your master from this day forth…" Yami bit his lip as whispering voices in his head urged him to succumb to Bakura's words. But the pharaoh stayed strong; he couldn't, and wouldn't allow himself to fall prey to the Rod's intense brainwashing.

"No…NO!" Yami refused. "You are _not_ my master, and you never will be! I won't help you hurt other people!" Bakura and Marik seemed rather aggravated. It seemed it would take more than the Millennium Rod to control the pharaoh. But luckily for them Yami's little outburst had sparked an idea for a backup plan

"So, you don't want anyone to get hurt, huh?" Marik asked with a scheming grin. "Well that's too bad…if you keep this up, that might just happen." Yami eyes went from a furious glare to a look of surprise.

"What do you mean by that?" the pharaoh asked. "What are you saying?"

"Oh, nothing…" the Egyptian psycho elaborated. "I'm just saying that it would be such a shame if something were to happen to those little friends of yours because of your resistant behavior." Yami gasped at the mention of his allies, and his glare of anger quickly returned.

"You stay away from them!" he hissed. "I swear, if you harm a single hair on any of their heads, I'll-"

"You'll what, Pharaoh? Kill us? Even if you managed to get loose from those ropes, you wouldn't be able to overpower the both of us." Bakura explained. "You only have two options; either you work with us and do exactly as we say, or we go back to that game shop and I make you watch while we kill every person inside. So what's it going to be…you…or them?" The pharaoh shared a death glare with the thief king for over a minute. He didn't want to be a slave. He didn't want to be used. But with his partner and friends' lives on the line, what choice did he have?

Yami closed his eyes, hanging his head in defeat. "Fine…I'll do whatever you want…" he muttered reluctantly. "Just leave my friends alone…"

"That's more like it…I expect this sort of cooperation from you from now on." The thief king stepped away for a moment, grabbing a roll of black duct tape sitting on the desk. "Marik and I have some things to take care of now." Bakura announced, tearing off a decent sized strip as he came back. "So you're going to stay here and be quiet for a little while." Yami couldn't help but struggle slightly as the thief king firmly pressed the tape over his mouth. But once he remembered that his resistance could mean the end of his friends, he calmed down, allowing himself to be gagged.

"Now be a good boy, Pharaoh! We'll be back soon." Marik smiled, his voice overflowing with false kindness. "And I wouldn't try anything if I were you; I've placed Rare Hunters all around this building, and they'll be watching you like hawks." Yami didn't bother to try and speak through the duct tape; he only turned his head away, his eyes spiteful, yet sad.

"Oh, don't be like that; think of this as a chance to enhance your powers by ridding yourself of those weaklings you insist are friends." Bakura insisted. "Who knows? You may even begin to like working for us after a while." The two left their captive's side and headed casually towards the room's only exit. "We'll continue our little discussion later, Your Highness..." Bakura called back, swiftly pulling the door open. "Until then, I bid you farewell…"

Yami listened as the door closed and locked with a soft click, leaving him alone in the dim florescent lighting. As thick silence fell over the room, a few tears began to roll down his cheeks. _'Yugi…everyone…what am I going to do?'_ he thought. _'I don't want to do this…I want to be with you…not them…'_ The pharaoh tightened his restrained hands into fists, furious with his own helplessness. He was so completely distraught; so distraught that he didn't even realize that he'd opened the mind link.

/Someone…anyone…help me…/ he pleaded. /Please…help me…/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Domino City Park_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though it was still morning, the Domino City Park was already alive with activity. Toddlers swarmed the playground like ants looking for spilled honey, their overprotective parents saying close by, while older kids played and talked on their own.

Sitting on a park bench away from all this commotion was a teenage girl, hiding most of her head underneath a hood. At first glance, she had a quite boyish appearance. Her breasts were smaller than what most would call average, and she sat in a manner that most women wouldn't dare to. But that didn't matter to her; the girl didn't care if she looked like a boy or if someone thought she wasn't sitting correctly. She had the right to look however she wanted, and anyone who thought otherwise…well…screw them.

As she sat there, her thumbs dancing across the touch screen phone cradled in her hands, a pretty young woman with long brown hair and caramel eyes suddenly ran up to her, breathing heavily and leaning against the park bench for support. She had a completely developed chest and wore a charcoal colored suit top and skirt with matching flats and a shoulder bag – a great contrast from the younger girl's red short-sleeved hoodie, fishnet gloves, black shorts, and knee-high converse shoes.

"There you are!" the woman breathed in relief, still practically gasping for air. "Where have you been?! I was looking _everywhere_ for you!" The tomboy didn't look up from her handheld device. But her thumbs stopped moving, indicating that she was paying attention.

"I didn't worry you, did I?" she wondered. "You know I like to go off on my own sometimes, Nat. It's nothing personal; it's just the way I am."

"I understand, Miss Thomas." the woman claimed as she caught her breath. "But it wouldn't hurt for you to tell me where you were going so I wouldn't have to do all this running around."

"So we're back to that 'Miss Thomas' stuff, huh?" the girl moaned. As she slipped her phone into her pocket and left her place on the bench, she pulled her hood down, revealing shoulder-length blonde hair with black and red bangs and bright yellow-orange eyes. "What did I say about calling me that, Natalie? 'Miss Thomas' makes me feel way too…_formal_. And you know what I always say; when you're too formal, there's a good chance that nobody likes you."

"I understand, Miss Eden. But I highly doubt your mother would be alright with her assistant referring to her daughter on a first name basis." Natalie said nervously. The girl, or Eden, could only giggle at such a comment.

"Oh come on, Nat; you're being way too paranoid." she chuckled, walking up to her worrying guardian. "And quit demoting yourself! You're not just any old assistant; how many assistants actually volunteer to look after their boss's kid? Trust me; you're more like family than anything else!"

"Well…alright…and thank you, Miss." Natalie accepted shyly. "But may we please go home now? We were supposed to be back an hour ago."

"Well, I guess so. I'm starting to get bored anyway-"

/Someone…anyone…/

"…Nat…did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Natalie wondered.

"That voice." Eden clarified. She left her guardian's side, darting around as she looked for a possible source. "I just heard a voice saying-"

/Help me…/

"There it is again…it sounds like someone calling for help…"

/Please…help me…/

"And…I think I've heard it somewhere before…"

"I'm sorry, Miss Eden…but I really didn't hear anything." the assistant claimed. "Maybe you're just imagining it?"

"No way! I definitely heard something!" the tomboy confirmed, still scrambling to find out where the voice had come from. "You had to have heard it; how else would I have-" Eden suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, falling deathly silent and raising her right arm. She stared intensely at something decorating her ring finger; a golden band covered in shimmering red and yellow stones that she hadn't dare take off since she was a little girl. The memories of a hot sun beating down on dry sand and a handsome young boy with colorful hair rushed back to her almost immediately, making her heart flutter. "…It's _you_, isn't it?" she asked in a whisper, not realizing she was talking aloud. "After all this time…it's really you…"

"Miss Eden, is there something you're not telling me?" Natalie asked in concern. "What's going on?"

"Nat, we have to go find him." Eden stated in a stern tone.

"_Him_? Who in the world are you talking about?"

"I'll explain later! But we have to hurry!" Without any warning, Eden grabbed her guardian's arm and took off across the grass, careful not to run into any of the children in her path. "Come on; before it's too late!"

"Miss Eden, wait!" Natalie cried as she was dragged away. "We don't have time for this! We have to go home!" But it was no use; despite her protests, she was whisked away by her young charge, towards an adventure that neither of them could have anticipated.


	7. Chapter 7

Only a short time had passed since Eden had first heard the familiar voice calling for help. Now she was in the passenger's seat of Natalie's gold Honda Acura, in search of the owner. "Miss Eden, I really don't understand this whole thing." the assistant sighed, turning a corner. "If there really is a voice, why do you have to find it at all?"

"Because I know who it belongs to." Eden claimed as she stared outside. "He's someone I met a long time ago. You remember, don't you: the one I used to talk about when I was little?"

"Wait…_that_ guy?! The Egyptian prince you said you met when you were five?! That actually happened?!"

"Of course it did; I saved his life back then." Eden raised her hand, showing Natalie the decorative golden ring. "And ever since, we've kept rings to remember each other by, so that we could meet again. And now, we finally can."

"Incredible…but I'm still lost. Why can you hear this voice, yet I don't hear anything?"

"My guess is it's through a mind link. But I think he's doing it by accident; he didn't answer me when I tried to respond, so he probably doesn't even know he opened it."

"A mind link…so then…he has the same abilities as you?"

"The same? No way…he's _much_ stronger." Eden continued to stare outside as the buildings zoomed by, her eyes narrowing. _'Why is this taking so long? I know he's out here…'_ she said to herself. _'If I could just sense the shadow energy, I could find him.'_ The tomboy's fingers curled into her palm, forming a tight fist. _'Come on…where are you?!'_ As the seconds sluggishly ticked by, she waited in silence for the sensation to come to her. She waited. And waited.

Until finally, it came.

"NAT, STOP THE CAR!" Natalie nearly had a heart attack when Eden screamed out so suddenly. But she managed to slam her foot on the brake fast enough, bringing the car to a screeching halt.

"Miss Eden, _please_ don't scream while I'm driving." the frazzled brunette pleaded.

"Sorry, Nat…but we're here…" Natalie moved forward in her seat, peering around her charge in order to get a better look. They had stopped in front of the large parking lot of a rundown storage building. Every window the two could see was either cracked or broken completely, and the walls were in the early stages of rusting.

"Um…I don't mean to be rude, Miss…" Natalie assured. "But do you really think that anyone's in there?"

"Positive; I can sense his shadow energy coming from the inside." Eden said with a nod. "And if that's not enough to convince you, look over there." Natalie watched as two men in dark purple cloaks stepped outside of the building. They immediately closed the door behind them, and took places on opposite sides, guarding the entrance. "Just look at those creeps, Nat." the teen muttered angrily. "Their energy is so corrupted; I can feel it from all the way over here…"

To Natalie's surprise, Eden suddenly pushed the passenger door open, stepping out of the car. "Miss, what on Earth are you doing?!" she asked, quickly following her teenage charge.

"What else? I'm getting him out of there." Eden answered as she headed towards the building. "He's in there somewhere, and if I wait any longer it might be too late."

"But don't you think those two look a bit…_dangerous_?" Natalie queried.

"Don't worry about it, Natalie." the tomboy insisted. "I've beaten guys twice their size." It wasn't until the girls were only a couple yards away that the Rare Hunters noticed them. Naturally, they were suspicious. But since they figured a couple of girls couldn't be much trouble, they didn't get too worried.

"Hey, you two!" one of the men called. "Get lost; you're not welcome here." Natalie cringed a bit, but Eden stood her ground, not even flinching.

"Gentlemen, it's come to my attention that you're in possession of something that doesn't belong to you." Eden stated sternly, crossing her arms. "And that being known, I'm gonna need you to step aside and let me get said 'something' out of here…capisce?" The Rare Hunters looked at each other for a moment, confused by such an ambiguous statement. Could this kid be an ally of the pharaoh, come to rescue him from their masters? Whether she was or not, they couldn't take the chance.

"Little girl, I don't know who you think you are, but I suggest you get out of here." the other Rare Hunter, sounding more hostile. "This isn't any place for ladies."

"Oh, don't worry about us; we're quite capable of taking care of ourselves." Eden made clear. "Now how about you get out of my way? I haven't got all day, you know."

"Miss Eden, _please_…" Natalie trembled, practically hiding behind her employer's daughter. "You're making them angry…"

"Your friend is right." the first Rare Hunter assented. He came closer to the two girls, making Natalie cringe even more. "Why don't you just go home and bake a cake or something? You know…like a _real_ woman…"

"…_Real_ woman?" Eden repeated. Her voice had a bit more of an edge this time, but the Rare Hunter didn't seem to notice.

"You know… a real woman. One with a nice, developed body who stays at home, makes you dinner, and does what she's told." he practically laughed, grabbing onto the front of Eden's hoodie. Natalie was clearly angered by the insulting stereotypes, but remained silent, as did her charge. "So go home, huh? Just go and look pretty, like girls are suppose-"

Without any warning, Eden violently grabbed the arm the man had used to touch her, immediately beginning to crush it with extreme force. As his bones began to crack under her death grip, the Rare Hunter opened his mouth to scream. But all that came out was a raspy cry of pain.

"Who the _fuck_ do you think you are?!" the aggravated girl growled, a single vein in her forehead popping out. "You seriously have the balls to go and spew your sexist shit right in front of me, and expect me to just take it?!" She released the Rare Hunter, causing him to stumble backwards towards his ally. Both men looked utterly terrified, while Natalie looked away and covered her eyes with her hands, as though she already knew what was about to happen. "You know, I think you jerks could stand to learn a little more about what a 'real woman' actually is." Eden continued with a hiss, cracking her knuckles. "How about you let me provide you with a free first lesson?"

* * *

><p>Yami was tugging harshly at the ropes fastening his wrists behind the chair, trying to get loose. <em>'I have to get out of here before Bakura and Marik get back.'<em> he thought as he struggled. _'I won't let them control my life like this!'_ The captive royal continued with all his strength to try and squeeze his wrists out of the constricting bonds. But finding his attempts useless, he couldn't help but scream in aggravation, despite it being reduced to a muffled cry because of the duct tape gagging his mouth.

'_Alright…just stay calm, Yami…'_ he ordered, scolding himself for allowing frustration to get the better of him. '_You've been in worse situations… you just have to think this through…'_ Yami closed his eyes, trying to come up with anything that could help his escape from his enemies' clutches. _'There has to be some way out of this…there has to be something…'_

"Stop her! Don't let her through!"

"Hell no, _you_ stop her! That bitch is fucking crazy!"

Yami's eyes snapped open as he heard the terrified screams of several men outside the room. As he wondered what could possibly going on beyond his sight, the shouts started to dwindle, quickly being substituted with the sound of bodies colliding with the hard ground. But even the loud thumping eventually came to a halt, and the next thing the pharaoh knew, eerie silence had enveloped the entire area.

Naturally, Yami was a bit frightened. Though he wasn't sure how many Rare Hunters there had been, he figured that his longtime enemies would have placed more than enough to prevent his escape. But if that was the case, who could have possibly managed to defeat them so easily? And more importantly, could he consider this person a savior, or simply a different enemy-to-be? The answer came quickly.

Without any warning, a fist suddenly rammed straight through the door to his prison, causing thin splinters to fly around the room. Taken completely by surprise, Yami's eyes nearly doubles in size. That door, though wooden, was clearly dense enough to withstand most human blows. So how in the name of Ra, he wondered, did someone break through it with their bare hands as though it were plywood?

The curious royal continued watching as the fist slowly uncurled, located the door knob, and carefully turned locking mechanism until there was a soft click. Within seconds of the hand retracting through the hole from which it had come, the door had flung open with a loud boom. Yami winced as a wave of brilliant white filled the room, his eyes having become unadjusted to the light. But as his vision came back into focus, a soft gasp escaped from him.

"So this is where they're keeping you, my prince." Eden beamed happily, stepping into the room. "Huh…I guess I should really stop calling you that; you're the pharaoh now, right?" Yami didn't respond; he was too shocked to do so. That beautiful hair…those bright eyes…that warm smile; it barely took a second for him to realize who he was looking at.

The pharaoh immediately tried to speak to his defender from millennia ago, but incoherent and muffled words were all that came out. Quickly recognizing her friend's distress, Eden rushed over to his side and gently peeled the tape off of his mouth.

"You…is it really you?" Yami was finally able ask. "You're not just some cruel illusion created by my mind, are you?" Eden just giggled, poking her longtime friend in the cheek.

"Course not, silly." she laughed. "I'm really here."

"You've barely changed since the last time I saw you." Yami told her, catching her contagious smile. "I was starting to think I'd never see you again…or anyone else, for that matter."

"Well, don't you worry about that." Eden insisted. She walked around to the back of the chair, kneeling down and starting work on the ropes. "I'm gonna get you out of here…I promise…"

"Miss!" Natalie called from the hall, running into the room seconds later. "Miss, is everything – oh my…Miss Eden, is this-"

"That's right; Natalie, meet the Pharaoh." Eden responded. "Just give me a minute, okay? I have to get him out of this."

"Well, is there anything I can do to help?" the brunette wondered.

"My Millennium Puzzle…they took it from me so I couldn't use it…" Yami mentioned. "It's over there; on that hook." Both young women looked over in the direction that the captive royal was indicating, staring in amazement at the golden pendant.

"Whoa, the Millennium Puzzle?! That's awesome; I've seen pictures of it before, but I never thought I'd see it in person!" Eden exclaimed. "Nat, could you go get it for him?"

"Of course, Ma'am." As Natalie fetched the Puzzle, Eden continued to try and free Yami from his bonds. But unfortunately, her attempts had no more success than his.

"I'll say this much; whoever tied these knots sure knew what the hell they were doing." the tomboy admitted, looking frustrated, but impressed. "Oh well…I'll just have to break the big guns…" Yami watched as Eden stuck out her index and middle fingers, looking confused. But to his surprise, shadow energy – which unlike Bakura or Marik's was a luminescent gold – quickly amassed around her hand and up her fingers, shaping itself into a knife-like point. The pharaoh watched in awe as Eden used the energy dagger to slash the ropes with incredible ease, and within seconds, they had slunk to the floor, finally freeing him.

"There you go." Eden stated proudly, helping Yami to his feet. "Come one, Nat; we have to get moving." Natalie darted back over to the teens, tightly grasping the Puzzle.

"Here you are." she said politely, carefully placing the pyramid in Yami's hands. "I hope I didn't cause it any damage."

"Don't worry; it seems fine." Yami insisted, gently pulling the chain over his head. As his Millennium Item rested on his chest, he let out a soft sigh, feeling as though a missing piece of him had been restored. But sadly, the bliss was short lived.

"Hold it!" a masculine voice cried out in anger. The three allies glanced back at the door with wide eyes. About ten Rare Hunters now stood in the door, glaring at them angrily. From the bruises and cuts on their faces and arms, it was clear that they had already been subjected to attack.

"You three aren't going anywhere!" the Rare Hunter in the front of the group shouted. "You will not interfere with the plans of our masters!" Eden only frowned angrily, pushing Yami behind her protectively.

"Masters, huh? I should have figured you guys were just someone's lackeys." the annoyed tomboy stated. She took a confident step forward, cracking her knuckles as she did. "Just stand back, Pharaoh…I'll try to make this fast so we can get out of this dump…"

Eden's face was suddenly illuminated as the Eye of Anubis emerged from her forehead. As huge amounts of her shadow energy began swirling around her hands and up her arms, the Rare Hunters quickly recalled their first beating from the fiery girl, and backed up fearfully. Yami on the other hand, was simply dumbfounded.

'_How…how is she doing that?'_ he wondered. _'All this time, I thought an Eye could only appear for those who possessed a Millennium Item…and yet she's…'_

"Alright boys, let's get this over with…" Eden told the frightened minions. "So…who's first?"

Yami had never seen a group of people scramble away faster than the Rare Hunters did. As the cowards ran away, tripping over each other and screaming like little girls, Eden's shadow energy receded, and the Eye of Anubis vanished from her head.

"Tch…what a bunch of babies." she grumbled under her breath. "Come on, Pharaoh; let's get out of here." Yami couldn't help but blush as his friend gently wrapped her hand around his own and pulled him out the door. But he didn't try to pull away; her hands were like silk – soft and smooth – and her strong grasp soothed his anxiety, making him feel safer.

As the teens and Natalie headed for the exit, stepping over the inert bodies of beaten Rare Hunters, Eden glanced back at the still flushed royal. "So what's your name?" she asked curiously.

"My name?" Yami repeated.

"Yeah…we never got the chance to really introduce ourselves back then." Eden reminded him. "Here, we'll go first…She's Natalie, and my name's Eden: Eden Thomas. And you?"

"Well…back when we first met, my name was Atem." the pharaoh stated. "But my friends call me Yami."

"Yami…I like it. It's cute and simple, with a bit of mysterious undertone." the tomboy complimented. She safely led the pharaoh through the remaining halls, and continued to lead even as they walked out of the building and towards the car. "For now, I think we'll go to my house so you can rest for a while. Would you like that, Yami?"

"Yes, Eden…I would like that very much…" Yami responded warmly.

"I'm glad…You're happiness means a lot to me."

Yami smiled to himself, his hand tightening its grip with the tomboy's. _'Eden…my savior …you've rescued me again.'_ he thought. _'I suppose some things never do change…even after five millennia…'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_A Short While Later_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Get up!" a furious voice with a British accent spat. "I said wake up, you Ra damned fools!"

The Rare Hunters moaned tiredly as they came to their senses, holding their aching limbs. For a while, all they could recall from the previous events was a bombardment of flying kicks and punches. But as they looked up, they were frozen stiff by the furious glares of Marik and Bakura, and like a brick to the head, the memories came back hard and fast.

"Where is he?! Where is the pharaoh?!" Bakura roared. He and Marik took a few steps closer, making the beaten minions cringe in fear. "How could you idiots let him escape?!"

"I'm very disappointed in you, boys." Marik growled at the other men. "Didn't I tell you that if anything happened to the pharaoh, I'd skin you all alive, sow the pelts together and hang them on my wall?"

"No Master, please!" one of the Rare Hunters cried pathetically. "I-It wasn't out fault!"

"Well, then who's was it?!" the psychopath demanded to know, grabbing the man by the collar and dragging him to his feet.

"He…he didn't get away on his own." the Hunter confessed. "These two chicks…they showed up out of nowhere, and they got him out."

"Chicks…you mean girls?" Bakura scowled. "What girls? What did they look like?"

"There was a brunette in her twenties…and a teenager: blonde, with red and black bangs. That one was about the same age as Yugi Mutou…but she was…_different_…"

"Different?"

"She…she was like you two." the Rare Hunter confessed. "She could do that shadow mumbo jumbo; she had the eye on her head and everything. That's how she was able to beat us."

Marik dropped the man, watching him crawl back towards the other lackeys. Both he and the thief king seemed lost in thought. A young girl who could use shadow magic and could bear a Millennium symbol was not something to turn a blind eye to. There was no way she could have possessed an Item, so how could she have done such things? And whoever she was, could she have been an ally of Yugi and the others?

"Get up; all of you!" Marik suddenly barked. Fearful for their lives, the Rare Hunters immediately scrambled to their feet, staring at their masters with terrified expressions. "Now listen up; we're going to be nice give you another chance." the madman said sternly. "But if you want to stay on good terms, you're going to have to bring the pharaoh back to us."

"We don't care if you have to tear this whole city apart…you _will_ bring him back; understand?!" Bakura shouted. The Rare Hunters nodded, a few of them taking small gulps.

"But…what about those girls?" one of the men dared to ask.

"They mean nothing to us." Marik responded. "Just take the pharaoh; we don't care what you do with anyone else involved." Not wanting to keep their masters waiting any longer, the group of Rare Hunters took off to gather the rest of their members. As they did so, the two former spirits walked away in the opposite direction.

"You really think they can handle this?" Bakura asked his accomplice.

"Not really; they're a bunch of idiots." Marik claimed. "That's why we'll be conducting a little search of our own." The thief king just chuckled softly.

"You can't fool me, Marik." he claimed. "Admit it…you want to see this little shadow magic user just as much as I do."

"Haha…I suppose what they say is true; great minds _do_ think alike." the Egyptian psycho laughed. "And that being said, I assume we're equally pissed about this."

"Quite…this brat had some nerve taking our key to conquest…we're just going to have to teach her what happens when you meddle in adult affairs…" The evildoers continued their walk in silence, both thinking about this unforeseen enemy.

She wanted a battle?

Fine.

They'd give her a war.


	8. Chapter 8

"He's _gone_?! What the hell do you mean he's _gone_?!"

Yugi had to hold his cell phone an arm's length away, him and the others having nearly been deafened by Kaiba's shouting. They were definitely starting to regret turning on speaker, especially now that other pedestrians on the street were starting to stare.

"Kaiba, calm down…" Yugi begged as softly as he could. "There's no reason to get angry about-"

"No reason?! You've _lost_ my dueling rival!" the CEO continued to shout, though quieter this time. "How the hell do you even lose someone that lives in your _own body_?!"

"For the last time, we didn't lose him; Bakura and Marik separated us with some kind of spell, drugged him so he couldn't fight back, and then carried him off!"

"And you just stood there and let it happen?! Why didn't you stop them?!" Joey, fed up with the CEO for shouting at his friend, grabbed the phone with a single swift motion.

"Don't go blamin' him for all this, rich boy! We didn't try ta let it happen!" he hollered into the phone. "We were pinned to a wall the whole damn time! So quit your yellin' already!"

"Here's a better idea: practice what you preach, Mutt!" Kaiba insisted. "You're twice as loud as I am!"

"What?! You little-how about ya come out of dat office of yours and say dat to my-" Téa snatched the phone away from the angry blonde before he could finish ranting. Joey immediately tried to grab it again, but Tristan held him back.

"Chill out, man!" the brunette ordered his best friend. "We're trying to get his help, remember?"

"Kaiba, we're desperate here; we _need_ you!" Téa beseeched. "You're the only one who can help us find Yami before it's too late!"

"Too late?" Kaiba repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"The pharaoh is in danger of losing his free will." Ishizu explained. "Marik and Bakura have taken back their Millennium Items, and if they manage to gain control of his mind, the world will be at their mercy!"

"Kaiba, please help us…I just want him back safe and sound." Yugi pleaded, looking ready to cry. "Please…I don't want to see Yami turned into some mindless doll…"

Silence.

"…Fine." Everyone's eyes widened, not sure if they'd heard the billionaire correctly.

"You mean…you'll do it?!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yes…I'll help you find him." Kaiba assured. "But don't get the wrong idea! I still haven't had that rematch with that other half of yours, Yugi. And I certainly doubt I'll be able to if he's in the hands of those two scumbags." Yugi grinned to himself. He knew that Kaiba was just making excuses in order to keep his pride intact. Deep down, the KaibaCorp CEO really did care if Yami's well-being; he just wouldn't admit it.

"Oh, thank you, Kaiba! Thank you so much!" the small teen rejoiced. "You have no idea how grateful I am!"

"Alright already! Don't get all sappy about it!" Kaiba demanded, sounding aggravated and somewhat embarrassed. "I'll meet you in front of the train station in about half an hour. By then, I'll have more information."

"Right; we'll be there." Yugi promised. "But really, Kaiba…thank you for this…"

"Whatever." Once Yugi heard the soft click that signified the end of the call, he pressed his own end button slipped the cell phone back into his jacket pocket.

"Alright guys; Domino Station's about twenty five minutes from here." he estimated. "If we leave now, we should get their just in time."

"I just hope we'll be able to say the same for Yami…" Téa prayed.

"Do you guys think he's okay?" Ryou wondered.

"Of course he is." Tristan insisted confidently. "The pharaoh's no pushover; there's no way he'll let those two take advantage of him."

"Yeah, but dat's not gonna keep 'em from tryin'." Joey claimed. "I mean think about it; he's probably locked up in some dark, cold room while those lousy sons of bitches twist his thoughts around! I can't even imagine what he's goin' through…it's probably horrible!"

* * *

><p>A little while away from the center of the city, a lavish, cream colored mansion with dark roofing stood proudly in the near noon sun. It sat behind a tall gate of black iron, and was accompanied by a smoothly paved cobblestone driveway, a marble fountain gushing crystal-clear water, and a breathtaking landscape of trees, flowers, and shrubbery. The interior of the estate was complete with media, game, and theater rooms, a stunning kitchen, a private study lined with what seemed like a thousand books, and many more rooms that could never be counted at once; all that was really missing was classical music playing in the background.<p>

The room where Eden and Natalie resided was painted a cooling turquoise and had soft black carpeting. Rather than a flat screen TV or some other over-the-top luxury, the space was filled by a tall white dresser, a wooden desk, a couple of multi-colored beanbag chairs, and a huge bookshelf that covered an entire side, jam packed with various issues of different manga. Compared to the rest of the house, it was quite ordinary; the most expensive items were probably the king-sized bed that Eden was sitting on top of, and the black les paul electric guitar that the tomboy was holding.

"Miss, are you sure your parents won't mind you bring a stranger into the house?" Natalie asked as she watched her charge strum a few notes.

"Of course they won't." Eden claimed, tightening a loose guitar string. "They wanted me to make friends now that we're in Domino, so that's what I'm doing." A loud tapping could be heard from outside.

"Come in!" Yami silently walked inside and shut the door behind him, his hair still slightly damp from the shower he'd just taken. The pharaoh was now wearing a tight black hoodie with rolled up sleeves over a dark gray tank top, along with black leather pants, brand new black boots with multiple buckles, and a new collar around his neck. He'd kept the belt and bracelets from his previous outfit, and naturally, he still had on the Millennium Puzzle. "Whoa, you look great!" Eden exclaimed, placing the guitar up against the wall and running over to him. "Doesn't he look good, Nat?"

"He's very handsome, Miss Eden." Natalie agreed.

"Thank you…but are you sure you want me to have these?" Yami wondered. "I don't want to take things from you if you don't want me to."

"Oh, don't worry about it." the tomboy insisted. She walked back to the bed, lying down on the soft aquamarine comforter. "Mom's already introduced that outfit anyway, and she's more than happy to let anyone try her designs."

"Designs?"

"Yep; you are currently wearing an original design by rising fashion designer Marie Thomas." Yami stared down, examining his new clothes. He was sure he'd heard that name before; Téa had mentioned it a few times in previous conversations, and he remembered hearing the last name mentioned somewhere as well.

"I think I've heard of her…" he recalled. "Isn't she married to-?"

"Zackery Thomas. He's my dad, and the founder and CEO of the Kakumei Technology Corporation." Eden cut in. "Have you heard of them?"

"Of course I have; Kakumei's one of the greatest technology companies of all time." Yami complimented. "Their CEO is really your father?"

"I know it's probably hard to believe; Dad never liked to have me or Robyn – my older sister – in the spotlight when we were kids. He thought over exposure would go to our heads, so we've lived outside of the city for most of my childhood." the tomboy informed him. "But now that I'm older, and Robyn's off at college, my folks thought it would be good for us to move back into Domino." Eden sat back up, crawling across the bed until she was closer to the pharaoh. "But enough about me; what about you? Anything interesting happen over the past few millennia?"

"Well…I'm afraid I really don't have much to tell." Yami apologized, taking a seat on the bed as well. "As pharaoh, I defeated a great evil, but ended up sealed within the Millennium Puzzle in the process. I probably wouldn't even be here now if it wasn't for Yugi."

"Yugi?" Eden repeated curiously. "Wait…you mean Yugi Mutou? Like, world famous Duel Monsters champion? _That_ Yugi?"

"Yes…he's my friend, and the one who awakened me by putting the Puzzle back together…we used to share body and help each other duel. Back then, I was just a disembodied spirit with no idea who he was or where he came from." the royal explained, though his expression suddenly seemed quite sorrowful. "Yugi and our other friends helped me to regain many of my memories, but I'm still receiving them…even my memories of you. You must think I'm terrible…after everything that you did for me, I forgot all about it…" Yami could feel something wet and round roll down his cheeks. Ashamed of letting his feelings get the better of him, he looked away. But Eden quickly turned his head back towards her and brushed his tears away, leaving the pharaoh dumbstruck.

"You say that like it's your own fault…you can't blame yourself for getting amnesia, silly." the tomboy asserted. "I wouldn't be mad at you for something like that. I'm just happy you found good people who could help you remember your past…and that you still have this…" She suddenly grabbed the Yami's right hand, pulling it up into their line of sight. For the first time, he noticed that there was something glittering on his finger; the very strawberry ring that had restored his memories of his friend and her heroics.

"See? It probably materialized when you separated from Yugi." Eden theorized. "You know, I've always believed that people never completely forget the things that are special to them, Yami…that's why even when you didn't remember me, this ring stayed with you, even if it was just in your mind." Holding his hand tenderly, she grabbed the ring and gently slid it off, before doing the same with her own. She then replaced the rings on the hands of their original owners, much to Yami's curiosity. "Deep down, you knew you had to keep my ring safe, because that's what you said you'd do all those years ago…how could I possibly be angry at you for keeping your promise to me?" For a moment, the room was quiet. But as he looked at the glittering stones of the golden ring on his finger, Yami smiled.

"Thanks…I really needed to hear that…" he said gratefully. "…Can I ask you something? It's been bothering me for a while now."

"Sure; what is it?"

"That golden aura from before…that was shadow energy, wasn't it?" Eden head perked up, and then she let out an amused giggle.

"I guess nothing gets past you, does it?" she laughed. "You're right; that was shadow energy."

"So I was right…you can harness the powers of shadow magic." Yami confirmed, sliding closer to her. "And I bet you know about the Millennium Items, too; you said earlier that you had seen my Puzzle before, but not in person."

"Millennium Items, ancient Egypt; I know the whole kit and caboodle."

"But how can you do and know about all of this; are you the only one?"

"Oh no…my grandma's the best shadow mage in the family; she's the one who taught my sister and I to harness the energy and preform spells." Eden disclosed. "It was hard work, though. We had to train for years to perfect our skills; it was my lack of skill that got me hurled back to Egypt in the first place, until my grandma brought me back. But as far as I'm concerned, it was well worth it. After all, it was for you."

"_Me_?" Yami gasped. "What do you mean?" Eden smiled, leaning in closer to him.

"I mean the whole reason we use our magic is for _you_, Yami; at least that's what people keep telling me." she revealed. "According to legend, our ancestors have been training in the shadow arts for millennia in preparation for the pharaoh's return: and you, as I'm sure you already know, are the pharaoh. Grandma says that it's our sacred duty to use our magic to protect you." Words couldn't describe Yami's amazement.

"I can't believe I never knew about any of this…I doubt even Marik and Bakura could have thought it was possible."

"Who are they; some of those friends you were talking about?" the young shadow mage inquired. The pharaoh shook his head.

"Far from it…those two are my worst enemies, and the owners of the Millennium Ring and Rod." he answered, a bit angered by the thought of the other former spirits. "They're cruel and selfish monsters who think of nothing but world domination…and besides that, they were the ones who separated me from Yugi and took me captive in the first place. It all happened just this morning."

"So they're the ones pulling the strings in all of this." Eden realized. "But what's their deal? Why would they kidnap you at all?"

"It's my powers…they've tried to steal them in the past, but now they've decided they take me with them. Naturally, I refused to help them, but that's when they tried to use the Rod to brainwash me into obedience." Yami told his allies. "I was just barely able to fight it off…but then they threatened to hurt my friends if I tried anything." Lost in his own recollection, the saddened pharaoh failed to notice Eden's expression was becoming more and more livid. "I was out of options…I _had_ to agree to their terms." he continued to mourn, holding his head tiredly. "If I could just control my powers as well as they can…I might have been able to fight back…"

"…The bastards…"

Yami looked up with wide eyes at a now furious Eden, who'd gotten up from her spot on the bed. She'd moved so fast that Natalie nearly leapt out of her skin. "What the hell is wrong with them?!" the tomboy fumed. "Who do they think they are, trying to force you to do their dirty work?!"

"Miss Eden, please calm down!" Natalie pleaded. "You don't need to get so worked up!"

"The hell I don't! They've got no right to just take someone from their friends like that; especially not for some stupid world domination scheme!" Eden argued with a look of determination. "Yami, your story's inspired me; I'm taking you back to your friends!"

"_What_?!" Yami and Natalie cried together.

"That's right; Nat and I are going to personally escort you home." the tomboy declared. "And as for those powers of yours, I'd gladly help in teaching you how to use them to their full potential."

"Miss, have you gone _mad_?!" Natalie questioned. "What if those men send more of their thugs after us?! We could be _killed_!"

"Then what do you think we should do; send him back, or just let him wander around until he gets home?!"

"Well, of course not, but-"

"Then it's decided; Yami, we're taking you home!"

"Eden, are you sure you want to do this?" Yami asked, getting up and standing by her side. "Natalie is right; it will be dangerous. And I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if either of you were hurt because of me."

"And _I_ won't be able to forgive _my_self if you get used as some super weapon for a couple of jerks." Eden expressed sternly. "Yami…this Bakura and Marik, whoever they are, can try all they want to keep me from helping you. But no matter what they throw at me, they can't make me abandon you! I promise…now that we're together again, we'll _stay_ together!" Yami felt as though all he could do was stare. Besides Yugi and his friends, he'd never seen someone so determined to help him.

"…Alright, Eden…if you're this bent on it, I can't stop you." the pharaoh sighed with a warm smile. "…But thank you…for all of this…"

"No thanks necessary…I'd do anything for a friend; Come on, Nat! I have some things to get together before we head back out!" As Eden and Yami headed for the door, Natalie raised her hand to present her opposition to such a hasty plan. But alas, realizing there would be no stopping the teen fury that was her employer's daughter, the brunette simply took a deep, tired breath and followed behind them.

This was definitely going to be one of _those_ days.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry this took so long, you guys TT_TT I got so distracted. I got into Psych, and started re-watching a bunch of shows from the '90s and early 2000s (you know; good TV) and to top it off, I sliced my finger open and had to get six stitches. But I didn't wanna make you guys wait anymore. So I hope you like it! (PS: There's some more concept art on deviantart if you'd like to look. The URL is in my profile.)**

* * *

><p>"What the hell's takin' him so long?!"<p>

"Dude, just calm down already."

"I _am_ calm! Ya see_ this_? _This_ is my calm face!"

Just as planned, Yugi and company had traveled to Domino Station, where they planned to meet up with Kaiba. The CEO had just called them back, stating that he was going to be a little later than he'd expected. But as long as Kaiba was going to help them find Yami, they decided that they could be patient. That is, most of them decided that.

"Dat bastard; we don't have time for this!" Joey growled as he paced around the station platform. "What does he think, dat we're just gonna wait around for him all day?!"

"Well, we don't exactly have a choice." Malik claimed. "He's the only one with the connections to find the pharaoh before it's too late."

"And if we are too late, we could lose both the pharaoh and the world to them." Ishizu added.

"I know…and dat's why I say we call Kaiba and tell him ta get his rich ass in gear!" Joey yelled. "At this rate, they'll have Yami wrapped around their fingers before we even get outta here!"

"Would you just relax? At least he told us he'd be late." Téa insisted. "Besides, he said it would only take another ten minutes."

"Yeah, he says dat now. But before ya know it, it'll be twenty minutes! Then thirty! Then an hour!"

Yugi took a deep breath as he watched his friends. The small teen knew that calming Joey down would take some time, so he walked a short ways off, hoping to get something accomplished. "There's no way those two could have slipped through the city without drawing attention, even if Yami was unconscious…" he theorized, glancing around the station. "Someone around here had to see _something_…"

It didn't take him long to find a potential witness; as he took in his surroundings, Yugi quickly noticed a woman sitting on a nearby bench, checking her email on her cellphone. With silky long hair of black and red, piercing magenta eyes, and a large chest that would make any man drool with lust, she was quite a sight for sore eyes. And such an individual didn't seem dangerous to talk to; what did he have to lose?

"Excuse me, mam?" Yugi called politely, walking up to the stranger. The women looked up immediately, staring at the teenager with curious eyes.

"Yes?" she responded, her tone smooth and elegant. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, I'm looking for my friend Yami, and I was just wondering of you'd seen him. He kind of looks like me, but he's taller and has a deeper voice. And he was with these two other guys: one with white hair, the other blonde."

"Hmmm…looks like you…two other men…no, I'm sorry; I don't think I saw anyone like that."

"Oh…well, thanks anyway…" A disheartened Yugi started to walk off, but he was stopped when the beautiful woman suddenly grabbed him by the arm.

"Hold on." she requested. She got up from her seat, smoothing out her denim jacket, and suddenly grabbed the teen's cheeks and began stretching them, much to Yugi's discomfort. "Aren't you Yugi Mutou; the current Duel Monsters champion?"

"Yesh…I um…" Yugi confirmed, his words altered by the distortion of his lips. "Ish dat a problum?"

"Oh no, not at all…in fact, it's _perfect_…" the woman assured before releasing the boy and watching him rub his sore face. "Tell me…you wouldn't happen to be related to a man named Solomon, would you?" Now Yugi was the one with a stare of curiosity. How did this woman, whom he'd never met before, know so much about him?

"Actually, I am; he's my grandfather." he informed her. "He's helping me find the guy I was just telling you about…well…at least that's what he's _supposed_ to be doing…"

The teen glanced back at the platform, where Solomon was staring at young girls getting off and on the trains. The old man visually examined each of them carefully, tracing every detail of their curvy and well-sculpted bodies, all while chuckling with an expression of delighted bliss. "If I could just get him to stop gawking at every other woman like that, we'd probably get a lot more done." Yugi stated, sounding a bit aggravated. He also turned towards the rest of the group, who were still trying to deal with an impatient Joey. "Of course, it's not _all_ his fault; there have been plenty of other distractions, too."

"Tch…he hasn't changed; even after all these years, he's still the same sicko…" Yugi's eyes widened at the woman's unexpected statement. He turned back to her, and realized she was even more annoyed with his grandfather than he was. "You know, I think I might be able to help you after all, sweetie." she realized, giving him a reassuring smile. "Just wait here for a second…"

The femme fatale strolled towards the spot where Solomon stood, leaving the young duelist to watch. As the clicking of her heeled sandals came to a halt just behind him, she seemed pretty calm and collected. So when she unexpectedly conked the old man on the head, causing him to yelp out in pain, it was no wonder that Yugi's jaw dropped in complete disbelief, and that his allies were finally distracted from their quarreling by all the commotion.

"I can't believe you!" the woman seethed as Solomon fell backwards in a daze. "What are you doing peeping at a bunch of girls while your grandson is in the middle of a crisis!? Don't you have any damn priorities?!"

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried nervously, rushing over to the spot next to his grandfather's assailant. "Say something, Grandpa! You're okay, aren't you?

"Don't be silly, Watson; I'm perfectly fine!" A dazed Solomon exclaimed. "It'll take more than that to deter the great Sherlock Holmes!" Yugi sighed in relief. Despite some delirious banter, it looked as though everything would be okay.

"Yuge, what's the matter?" Joey shouted to his best friend, he and the rest of the group rushing over to see what was going on.

"Yugi, what happened to your grandpa? Is he alright?" Téa asked worriedly when she and the others arrived by Yugi's side. "And who is this; is _she_ the one who did this?!"

"You say it like it's a bad thing; I'm just your friendly neighborhood patron, stopping the twisted actions of kinky perverts." the woman gladly confessed. "Do you have a problem with that, little girl?"

"Of course I do; you just attacked a defenseless old man!" Téa fumed. "You can't treat elderly people like that; isn't that right, guys?" When no response came, the brunette dancer's expression went from angry to confused. To her surprise, only, Ishizu, Malik, and Ryou were still by her side, while Joey and Tristan had approached the strange woman, focusing in on her large chest.

"Holy crap! I've never seen a bigger pair of tits in my life!" Tristan gasped. "Look at them; they're practically bigger than my head!"

"How do ya even fit dat much chest inside of a shirt?" Joey wondered. "There's no way those things are real, man; they're way too big…" As the two prattled on, they failed to notice Téa turn red with embarrassment, or the throbbing vein in the woman's forehead.

"No, they're real; they're not as stiff as the fake ones. Jeez, it must take serious upper body strength to carry them around."

"True; it ain't easy luggin' around two ripe melons like those all the-"

Joey and Tristan yelped as the woman gave them each a swift and heavy blow, just as she had done to Solomon moments before. As they sat grimacing on the ground, and rubbing the bumps on their heads, she folded her arms and looked back up at Téa. "Did you have a problem with _that_, too?" she asked.

"Actually, no; I found that one to be completely necessary…" Téa admitted with some satisfaction. "But it still doesn't excuse attacking a stranger on the street!"

"A stranger?" the woman laughed. "Who said anything about being a stranger?"

"Huh? What are you-"

"Wait a minute…" Solomon interrupted, finally coming out of his delusional state. "Left hook of a boxing champion…temper of a hungry grizzly…a chest that could double as floatation devices…Katherine, is that _you_?"

"So you really _do_ know this woman, Grandpa?" Yugi wondered curiously. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Of course! I'd know that face – and that bosom – anywhere!" the old man promised. "Why, I've known her for almost all my life. We went to the same high school, shared a homeroom; we both even studied archaeology after graduating! Ah, I remember the adventures we used to share as if the only happened yesterday!"

"If by 'adventures', you mean those crazy thrill trips and treasure hunts you always dragged me into, then yes; we did have some…'interesting' times." the woman – or Katherine, as she was called – sighed.

"Yeah…no offense, Gramps, but how could you have known her for so long?" Tristan questioned doubtfully. "I mean look at her; she's not a day over thirty."

"Thirty…I'd say that's about right…" Katherine supposed. "You know…give or take forty years." If they hadn't been attached, Yugi and his friends' jaws probably would have dropped to the concrete.

"_Forty years_?!" they cried out in unison. Katherine only giggled, amused by their bewildered expressions.

"Aww, what's the matter? Is it that hard to believe that I can be that old and still in my prime?" she teased.

"Well, dat's just great…" Joey sulked. "I can't believe I just got pounded by an old lady…"

"I suppose some people just age more gracefully than others." Ryou figured.

"Okay, am I the only one who sees a problem here?!" Téa argued. "There's no way she could look like _that_ at her age! Not without having done _something_ to maintain it!"

"Well, aren't we the little pessimist?" Katherine mocked. "I hate to disappoint you, but there's no big secret. I would rather die before getting plastic surgery, and all I really do is eat the right foods and exercise."

"Diet and exercise?" Solomon questioned. "I thought you told me before that you kept yourself looking young with shadow-" Solomon didn't get to finish; Katherine had smacked him on the back of the head before he could do so.

"What the hell's you're problem?!" she hissed as quietly as she could. "How dare you so nonchalantly try and reveal my personal secrets!"

"Oh come now, Kathy…I'd hardly call it a secret."

"If I _wanted_ them to know about shadow magic, I'd _tell_ them, you old geezer…and don't call me Kathy!"

"Wait…did you just say…_shadow magic_?" Yugi intruded in surprise. "Oh my gosh…you can use shadow magic, can't you?"

"I thought I sensed something strange about this woman." Ishizu confessed. "I wasn't sure, but this confirms it." Katherine, only just realizing what she had let slip out, slapped herself in the face.

"Ugh, me and my big mouth…" she groaned tiredly.

"Whoa, so she can used magic?" Joey asked. "Sweet! I've always wanted ta meet a witch!"

"_Joey_?!" Téa scolded.

"What? What'd I do?" the rookie duelist wondered.

"You can't label someone a witch; it's insulting!" the brunette dancer explained. "You wouldn't say something like that to the pharaoh, so don't say it to people you just met!" Katherine's body suddenly stiffened; she was listening in in the conversation and something had seemed to peek her interest.

"What would I call him a witch for? He's a guy." Joey countered. "Everyone knows dat witches have to chicks; if anything, the pharaoh's a-" Joey didn't get the chance to finish his claim before Katherine suddenly approached them, eyes wide in anxiousness. Just the speed at which she had done so had caused all them to practically jump backwards.

"How?" she demanded to know. "How do you know about him?"

"Umm…know what about who?" Yugi asked, being the only one willing to speak.

"The _pharaoh_; the one sealed within the depths of the legendary Millennium Puzzle." the youthful woman elaborated. "Just how do a couple of kids like you know anything about that?" A mutual sense of interest seemed to rise amongst the younger group members.

"How do _we_ know? Lady, how do _you_ know?!" Joey inquired.

"Oh believe me, I don't just _know_ about it; I've dedicated my life and soul to the great Nameless Pharaoh of Egypt." Katherine revealed. "I attempted to find the Millennium Puzzle that held him prisoner for years; unfortunately, your grandfather here got to it first. I begged him to give it to me so that I could find someone worthy of solving it. But being the stubborn fool he is, he refused."

"And it's a good thing I did, too." Solomon claimed proudly. "Why, if I hadn't kept that Puzzle, it probably _never_ would have been solved." For a few seconds, the only sound was a gentle gust of wind. But Solomon was grabbed by his overalls and pulled face to face with his former colleague, the silence quickly vanished.

"It's been _solved_…and you didn't _TELL ME_?!" Katherine hollered, looking ready to kill the old man. "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN, SOLOMON?! AT LEAST TELL ME _WHO_ SOLVED IT?!"

"Umm…that would be me…" Yugi shyly admitted. "It took a long time, but I managed to put it together about a year ago." With the new information, Katherine seemed to regain some of her composure. But she still held onto a frightened Solomon, just in case her anger spiked again.

"So you're the one the pharaoh has entrusted his soul to…you must really be something else, kid…" she concluded. "So where is he? What's he like? Do you have the Millennium Puzzle with you?" Everyone looked around nervously, hoping that they wouldn't have to be the one to answer the question. Explaining what had happened to Yami wouldn't be easy, especially to such a volatile individual.

"Uh…he's not exactly here right now…" Joey laughed nervously. "Ya see, we…dat is, we kinda…have no idea where he is …"

"…What?" The frosty tone of Katherine's voice sent shivers down everyone's spines. "You're you telling me…that you _lost_ the pharaoh?!"

"Well, technically we didn't lose him." Yugi corrected, looking ready to wet his pants. "He was separated from the Puzzle and…well…kidnapped." The gang wasn't sure if Katherine would either start spitting fire in anger or break down crying in terror. They'd never seen such contradicting emotions.

"I don't believe this; I can't believe this is happening! He's this "Yami" that you can't find, isn't he?! How could I not figure that out?!" she panicked, dropping Solomon and pacing the platform. "Do you have _any_ idea what could happen if that kind of power falls into the wrong hands?!"

"We do. And that's why we're trying to find him as fast as we can." Yugi claimed. "I'm really sorry; we tried to stop them from taking him. But they were just too strong."

"Don't apologize…it's not _you_ that I'm angry with…" Katherine stated, before pointing an accusatory finger at Solomon. "_You're_ the one I want to kill right now, you old bat!"

"_Me_?! Why _me_?!" the old man quaked.

"Because if you had told me that the Puzzle had been solved, I could have prevented this entire situation!" the beautiful woman growled, pulling harshly on her former colleague's ear. "Oh well; I suppose you'll just have to make it up to me by letting me tag along with you, Solomon.

"You mean…you're going to help us find Yami?" Yugi asked hopefully.

"Well, of course I am." she assured them. "I'll be damned if I let a couple of lousy vagabonds get away with abusing the pharaoh. It simply can't be allowed."

"Look, we appreciate the offer, but we're not sure there's much you can do." Tristan pointed out. "How exactly are you gonna help us if you're just as clueless as us?" Katherine was silent for a moment, and then suddenly held up an open hand to Yugi and his friends. The group watched in awe as luminescent blue shadow energy took form, swirling around in a loose sphere. They could all feel the immense amount of power contained within the little ball; it was _clearly_ not something you wanted to be hit with.

"I'm afraid it's only you children who are clueless…clearly you have no idea what shadow energy is capable of…" she determined. "Well…allow me, a loyal servant of the pharaoh, to show you just what it can do…"


	10. Chapter 10

"Come on guys, you're too slow! We'll never get anywhere at this rate!"

"Miss Eden, we're walking at normal speed; _you_, on the other hand, are practically going a mile a minute."

Domino City Plaza was flooded with people, which wasn't rare for an early afternoon on such a sunny day. While most of the city-goers were out to enjoy the shopping and sunshine, Yami and his new allies had a much more pressing agenda.

"Hm…I guess we can take a short break." Eden decided with a sigh. The tomboy stopped near the plaza fountain, putting down the black backpack she'd been carrying and plopping down on a nearby bench. When Yami and Natalie finally caught up, she looked up at them and patted the empty space beside her. "Come here, Yami; I wanna show you something." Once the pharaoh had fulfilled her request, the young shadow magician positioned his open palm to face upwards and then held up her own hand in the same way. "Well Pharaoh, I have some good news…I've decided to take this opportunity to show you how to summon your shadow energy!" Unfortunately, Yami wasn't as excited as Eden had hoped he'd be.

"Eden, I'm not sure about this; I've never done anything like this before." he reminded her, completely lacking confidence. "What if I can't do it? Or if I start to lose control?"

"Don't doubt yourself so much; you're stronger than you think." Eden tried to convince him. "You can do this…now watch…" Yami watched curiously as his friend raised her arm higher for him to observe. For a short time, she sat very still, keeping all of her focus on the task at hand. But eventually, her golden shadow energy began to materialized, forming a small luminescent sphere in her palm.

"You see? All you have to do is concentrate." she explained as the royal stared on in amazement. "Control and clarity of the mind are essential in mastering the shadow arts; just keep calm and stay focused and everything will be fine."

Yami glanced down at his own hand, still looking a little nervous. But he knew he had to swallow his fears; learning to control his powers was the only way he'd stand a chance against Marik and Bakura in the future. So after taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, erasing all unrelated thoughts vanished from his mind. '_Come on…you can do this…_' he encouraged himself. _'Focus…focus!'_

The pharaoh's eyes shot open as he suddenly felt the presence a warm, air-like substance. There it was. An apple-sized ball of his own shadow energy was sitting in his palm, glowing a brilliant shade of red. "I…I did it!" he gasped. "I really did it!"

"Whoa, you catch on fast!" Eden beamed. "Good job, Pharaoh; I should have known this wouldn't be a problem for you!"

"Um, I hate to intrude on the pharaoh's achievements, Miss…" Natalie interrupted, "But don't we have other matters to attend to?"

"Oh, that's right; Yami, you said before that you shared a body with Yugi Mutou. Do you know his house number, or maybe the name of the street he lives on?"

"I have no idea…I've never really had the chance to memorize it." Yami regretfully informed his allies. "But if it helps, we lived in a house attached to his grandfather's game shop: Kame Game."

"Well, that's a pretty good lead; we'd probably be able to find it if we had a map." Natalie stated. "And if it's a popular spot, than someone should be able to give us directions."

"So what are we waiting for; let's go find it!" Eden exclaimed. She scooped up her backpack and practically threw herself off of the bench, looking back at Yami as Natalie strolled up to her side. "We'll be back in a few minutes. Until then, I want you to keep working on controlling your energy, okay?" The royal nodded once to show his approval. "Good. And remember; stay focused!"

Yami watched silently as the two girls walked off, mixing into the abundant crowds. Once they were out of sight, he returned his attention to his empty hand and managed to re-summon the ball of red shadow energy. _'To think that I was able to use my powers like this…'_ he thought. _'I wonder what else I can do…'_ The pharaoh took another deep breath and began to mentally command his shadow energy to reshape itself. Seconds later, the glowing sphere obeyed his will, growing tiny, sharp spikes from its formally smooth surface.

Amazed and intrigued by his own abilities, Yami continued to transform the aura into numerous forms. He started out with basic three dimensional shapes, such as cubes, cylinders, and prisms. But in time, the figures became more complicated and detailed; he was even able to create a scale replica of his Millennium Puzzle. "Incredible…I wonder what Yugi and the others will say when I-"

"No! My paper!"

The pharaoh, startled by the distant cry, accidentally caused the energy in his hand to dissipate. When he looked up, he noticed a pretty woman with long lavender hair crouching down near a secluded alley on the other side of the plaza. Judging by her age and the messenger bag filled with books over her shoulder, Yami assumed that she might be a college student.

"Ugh, I'm such a klutz!" she groaned, brushing her dark purple hair out of her face while trying to grab a bundle she'd dropped. "I can't believe I just did that; and my report's due tomorrow!" Yami frowned at the sight of unfortunate situation. He didn't feel right just sitting by and watching; especially if those papers were truly that important to the young beauty. So letting his conscience take over, the pharaoh rose from the bench and walked towards her.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked when he finally reached her side. "You look like you could use some help with that." The girl initially gave him a surprised and confused look. But it once she realized his intentions, it swiftly transitioned to an expression of gratitude.

"Oh, yes! Could you grab those over there for me?" she pleaded. "It would be such a big help!"

"Sure; no problem." As Yami knelt down and began assisting in picking up the sheets, he failed to notice the girl's warm smile fade into a much more sinister expression. For a moment, she glanced towards the busy square, as though she was making sure that no one was watching. But once she was sure the coast was clear, her false smile returned and she finished picking up the papers.

Once he had collected most of the papers, Yami lightly tapped them against the ground to straighten them and handed them back to their owner as he stood back up. "Thank you so much for this!" the young 'student' rejoiced. "It's so rare to have a stranger be so kind now of these days."

"It was nothing, really." the pharaoh insisted. "You don't have to thank me." He turned away to take his leave, but the young woman halted him by gently grabbed him by the arm.

"Oh, don't be so modest; I would have been dead if I'd lost any of that research paper!" she claimed. "You deserve my thanks and so much more! I simply _have_ to repay you for this!"

"Oh no, I couldn't let you." Yami politely refused. "It just wouldn't seem right to accept something in return for this."

"Are you sure? There's nothing I can do for you?"

"I'm positive; I'm content with just having helped you."

"Well, if you insist. Thanks anyway, though…you were such a big help, Pharaoh…"

"You're welcome; but really, it was-"

Yami's expression shifted to a mix of shock and horror, and his gaze shot back to the young woman in an instant. _'D-did she just called me…Pharaoh?!'_ he pondered. _'No…there's no way she could know…unless…' _The King of Games took a few cautious steps backwards. Now he understood; this woman was working for Marik, Bakura, and the rest of the Rare Hunters. This entire situation had been nothing but a facade to get him alone, and he'd fallen for it.

"What's the matter, Pharaoh?" the woman wondered, her tone more wicked than before. "You're not planning on leaving, are you?" Yami flinched as he bumped into a tall, toned figure standing behind him. Swallowing hard, he looked behind his shoulder and felt his heart skip a beat; two Rare Hunters, their faces hidden by their black hoods, were blocking his only path to freedom. "I'm afraid the only place you're going is back to our masters; they were so disappointed that you left without telling them, so they ordered us to bring you back right away."

"Sorry, but I don't plan on going back to those two any time soon." Yami growled, giving her a harsh glare. "Their plans to make me their slave shall _not_ be fulfilled."

"_Oooh_, I like you; you're spunky. It a shame it won't do anything for you…boys? Be a couple of dears and grab the pharaoh, would you?"

A cornered Yami bit his lip, backing into the alley as the Rare Hunters descended upon him. With all escape routes inaccessible and no witnesses to help him, he was quickly running out of options. _'There's only one thing I can do...'_ he realized, closing his eyes and re-centering his train of thought. _'I just hope I can do it **right**…'_

The Hunters stopped dead in their tracks, looking shocked as the golden Eye of Anubis appeared on the pharaoh's brow. In the same way he'd seen Eden do it, he'd summoned a massive amount of shadow energy, letting it swiftly engulf his hands. "I'm not going anywhere!" Yami declared. "Cowards like you will _never_ break my spirit!"

"Wow, I'm impressed, Pharaoh…but I'm afraid our plans are unchanged." the Rare Huntress admitted. She looked over to her comrades, annoyed by their sudden display of fear. "What the hell are you two waiting for? Capture him already!"

Though both men were clearly hesitant, they complied with their colleague's demands. As they rushed forward to restrain him, Yami clench his fists tightly. He didn't know how long he could hold them back, or even if he could do so at all. He didn't care, though; if he had to go down, it would be with a fight. So he stood his ground bravely, ready to strike as the Rare Hunters closed in on him. But luckily for him, it didn't come to that.

"Yami, stay back!" Yami let out a startled cry as he was suddenly pushed out of the harm's way. He fell to the ground with a soft thud, his shadow energy dispersing immediately, and looked up to see none other than Eden, who had unexpectedly appeared in the alley.

Without a moment's hesitation, the tomboy struck one of the approaching Rare Hunters in the ribs and face, before grabbing him by the collar and hurling him into the second attacker. Both men went crashing into a row of garbage cans standing against the opposite wall and laid there in a shocked daze, much to the surprise and fury of the Huntress.

"What the - who the hell are you?!" she demanded to know, enraged by the interference in her plan.

"It really isn't any of your damn business." Eden responded spitefully. "Besides, I never give out my identity to lowdown, lying bitches."

"_Bitch_?! How dare you-"

"How dare I _what_? Protect my friend when a bunch of creeps take advantage of his kindness and hospitality? Sorry, lady; I'm not feeling the guilt!" As the Rare Huntress turned red with rage, Eden turned her attention back to Yami, grabbing him by the hand and helping him back to his feet. "Sorry about that; I guess I should've given you a better warning." she apologized. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"N-no…I'm fine." Yami promised. "I'm sorry, Eden…I…I walked right into their trap…"

"It's not your fault; I should have figured these Rare Hunter guys would try to get you alone." Eden vindicated. "And while I was at it, I probably should have warned you about that move, too."

"You mean the one I just did?"

"Yeah…the thing is, it's more of a scare tactic…you know…so that the enemy backs off."

"Oh…I see…I guess I'm not as good at this as I thought, then… "

"Wait, no! Don't take it like _that_!" the tomboy panicked, quickly realizing how disheartened she'd made the pharaoh. "Summoning that much shadow energy usually takes months of practice for a beginner, but you just did it on your first try! You progressing faster than any other shadow magician I've ever seen!"

"Really?" Yami asked, looking more hopeful.

"Of course." Eden confirmed. "Just you wait; you'll be doing real spells in no time at all!"

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick!" the Huntress butted in while her two comrades finally picked themselves up. "So…you must be the little brat who stole the pharaoh from our masters…didn't anyone ever teach you not to meddle in things that don't concern you?"

"If someone did, I probably wasn't paying attention." Eden joked as she turned back around. "But it doesn't matter anyway. Yami's my friend, and if those two bastards you call masters are trying to abuse him and his power, it _is_ my business!"

"Clearly, you underestimate our strength, girl. I'll give you one more chance; surrender the pharaoh and leave!"

"Ha! You think I'm scared of _you_? Let's not forget who just kicked the asses of both of your little friends over there."

The Rare Huntress gritted her teeth. As much as she hated to admit it, Eden was right. After all, the young girl _had_ managed to defeat over thirty Rare Hunters single handedly. _'Well if fighting her isn't going to work,'_ she figured, twisting her lips into a cocky smirk, _'Perhaps I'll take an approach that requires a bit more skill…'_

"What the hell are you so happy about all of a sudden?" Eden interrogated when she took noticed the smile.

"Oh, nothing. I've simply realized that you're right; I _can't_ beat you in a hand-to-hand battle." the Rare Huntress confessed. "So what do you say we settle this little problem another way?"

Eden continued to glare as their adversary slowly reached into her messenger bag, stepping in front of Yami in case the situation turned violent. But instead of the weapon she'd been expecting, only a standard Duel Disk with a deck in place was pulled out, causing both her and Yami to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "I challenge you to a duel, little girl." the woman dared. "I'd say it's much safer than any physical confrontation we could have, and with better odds."

"A duel?" Eden repeated, still looking puzzled as she cocked her head to one side. "You mean…like Duel Monsters? The _card game_?" Yami frowned, looking incredibly worried. From the way she was acting, it didn't seem like Eden knew anything about dueling. And from the sly grins on the Rare Hunters's faces, it seemed that their enemies were getting the same idea.

"Yes, Duel Monsters." the Huntress affirmed. "If you defeat me, we won't bother you anymore. But if I win…you will hand the pharaoh over to us."

"_What_?!" both teens gasped in unison.

"You heard me; if you lose, His Highness will be returned to Master Marik and Master Bakura."

"You fiends!" Yami roared, stepping forward aggressively. "Do you _honestly_ expect us to take such a bet?!"

"Hey, if she doesn't want to duel, we can always do it the hard way." the wicked beauty grinned. "I just thought that she'd want to settle this in a way in which nobody had to get hurt…not _much_, anyway…"

"But it isn't fair; at least let me duel in her place!" the pharaoh argued. "You can't just ask that of her without knowing if she can-"

"No, Yami; I'll do it." Yami's eyes widened in surprise as his gaze shot back to Eden. She appeared to be quite calm and collected, which was something he hadn't been expecting from her.

"Eden, no! I can't let you-"

"It's gonna be okay…I'm not afraid of these guys, and I'm not going to let them keep you from your friends any longer." Eden assured him, taking his hands in her own. "I'd rather die than let them lock you back up in some dark room; just stay back so I can take care of them…" Yami was touched. Besides Yugi and his friends, no one had ever stood up for him like this before.

"But Eden, I don't understand; how can you be so-"

"MISS EDEN!" Yami and Eden's heads perked up simultaneously as they heard a tired desperate cry pierce the air. The teens glanced back just in time to see poor Natalie come rushing into the alleyway, holding Eden's backpack in her arms and breathing heavily as she came to a stop beside them.

"Oh, there you are, Nat!" Eden exclaimed cheerfully. "Where've you been? I was starting to think you got lost."

"Well…that's probably because…I _did_ get lost…" Natalie panted as she attempted to regain her composure. "At the speed you were running, there's no way I could have kept up with you…"

"Oh, that's right; you don't have as much stamina as I do." the tomboy realized. "I'm sorry, Nat. But I had to keep these losers from hurting Yami." Natalie, only just becoming aware of the Rare Hunters' presence, let out a terrified squeal and fearfully jumped back the moment she saw them.

"L-L-losers?!" she trembled in disbelief. "But those three are more of those cloaked thugs from before!"

"That's right; they were losers then, and they're losers now." Eden declared. "But they're becoming a bit of a problem. So I'm gonna have beat the slutty one over there in a duel."

"A duel – oh, no – Miss, please tell me you don't mean-"

"What else would I mean, Nat? There's only one kind of duel now of these days." Before Natalie could protest any further, her young charge grabbed the bag and quickly began rummaging through its contents. After a short while, she smiled, indicating that she'd found what she was looking for. "But don't worry …it shouldn't take too long…"

Yami, along with the Rare Hunters, were shocked to see Eden pull a Duel Disk of her own from the depths of the backpack, followed by a full Duel Monsters deck of from a holster on her belt. "You know, I didn't actually think I was gonna need these." she admitted."I guess sometimes it pays to be prepared."

"Eden…you're…you're a _duelist_?" Yami asked, completely taken aback.

"Well, yeah; did I forget to mention that earlier?" the shadow magician wondered. "My grandma's been teaching me how to play this game since I could talk. She always said that it would play a big role in my destiny; looks like she was right."

"You…you _bitch_!" the Rare Huntress fumed. "You tricked me?! You knew what Duel Monsters was the whole time, and you _still_ acted as though you had no idea what I was talking about?!"

"Hey, I was just trying to confirm what the situation was; if you took that the wrong way, it's your own fault." Eden justified. "But enough talk; are we gonna do this or not?" The furious woman looked as though she were about to pop a blood vessel. Now she was sure she was going to beat the back talking tomboy, if only to shut her up.

"Fine! Just don't cry too hard when I knock your little punk ass into next week!" In almost perfect synchronization, both duelists slid on their Disks, shuffled and inserted their decks, and raised their arms to allow the blades to unfold. As the others looked on anxiously, the growing tension made the air feel heavy. But even as animosity swelled around them, the two young women stood poised and ready for battle, putting an end to the deafening silence with a single, simultaneous cry.

"LET'S DUEL!"


End file.
